Honor Amongst Thieves
by Cleo the Muse
Summary: Vala Mal Doran steals a cargo ship but wrecks it on a backwater little farm planet whose people don't even speak a dialect she can understand. Fortunately, there is a stranger living among them who is able to translate. Ship ahoy! DanielVala
1. Chapter 1

**Honor Amongst Thieves** by Cleo the Muse  
**Rating:** Probably won't get much higher than a "teen" or PG-13 rating. Vala's sure to make a lot of innuendo, though...  
**Genre:** Het (Daniel/Vala), AU, Action/Adventure, Romance, Humor, and anything else I come up with between now and the end  
**Episodes:** Nothing's sacred. Basically, any episode which has either Daniel or Vala in it (and maybe a few which don't), the first movie through season ten, and possibly even the new movies if this 'fic isn't finished before then. //shrugs//  
**Warnings:** Some foul language (though nothing too severe), some questionable comments from Vala, and Jonas Quinn.  
**Synopsis:** Vala Mal Doran steals a cargo ship, but wrecks it on a backwater little farm planet whose people don't even speak a dialect she can understand. Fortunately, there is a stranger living among them who is able to translate. He arrived on that planet in a flash of light only months before, and has yet to remember who he is. When a conversation with the incorrigible thief leads him to remember his name, Daniel agrees to travel with her through the Stargate to find his past.  
**Notes: **Loosely based on Ael L. Bolt's "Five Daniels That Weren't: The Third Daniel - Pirate" (It's available on FFnet - just look up Ael L. Bolt or grab it out of my "favorite fics" list on my profile.)

Sound like fun? I'm going to try to post a chapter a day, but we shall see... On with the first chapter!

* * *

**Honor Amongst Thieves**

Chapter 1

"That's just _great_!"

The simple, disgusted outburst broke the silence after all the noises of the crash-landed ship had faded. Hands on her hips, Vala Mal Doran surveyed the crumpled nose of the _tel'tac_, shaking her head.

"They just don't make 'em like they used to," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around her. "Note to self: the _next_ time you liberate an unattended cargo ship, make sure it _works_ first!"

At least it had gotten her to a habitable planet which supposedly had a Stargate, according to the navigational computer. Unfortunately, she had no idea how far away the transportation device was, as the computer had oh-so-kindly decided to fail shortly after she entered the planet's atmosphere. The naquadah running through her blood seemed to indicate it wasn't far, though she couldn't tell in what direction. There was just enough of the mineral in the soil to confuse the homing sense leftover from the Goa'uld which had inhabited her up until a few years ago.

Her stolen ship had put down--more "crashed" than "landed"--in a thicket of skinny conifers, the short trees having made for a bumpy but less-abrupt stop than bare earth would have afforded. Unfortunately, the offending flora was too tall to see over and too springy to effectively climb, meaning she was either going to have to stay at her ship until someone found her or strike out on her own and hope she encountered one of the villages she's seen dotting the landscape as she made planet-fall. Sighing, she stepped back into the ship's hatch and grabbed the simple satchel in which she carried the tools of her trade. Opening one of the engine consoles, she began methodically stripping control crystals from key systems, knowing the parts would sell well once she returned to a space-faring world.

As Vala stepped back out of the darkened confines of the non-functional ship, she realized that she was no longer alone. She briefly considered unstrapping the pistol from her right thigh, but just as quickly decided that maybe she'd give these people a chance to prove their intent first. "Come on out! I'm not going to hurt you!" There was a brief rustling in the thick brush, but no forms emerged. "My name's Vala, and I'm looking for the Stargate."

A male voice called out through the trees, but not in a language Vala recognized. "I'm sorry, I don't understand," she replied, then switched to Goa'uld. "_Kel sha! Tal'mac _Vala. _Ta'noc kree Chappa'ai?_"

They didn't seem to understand that, either, but two lanky, spear-wielding men stepped out of the undergrowth, moving cautiously toward her. They were clad in the simple, homespun fabrics common to practically every planet in the galaxy, though their hooded capes and boots seemed to be made of dyed animal skins. They were of average height for most humans of the galaxy--the taller of the pair only a few fingers above her own height--with thin, craggy features. She held out her hands in surrender. "Look, can you just take me to your village? _A'roush? _Uh... _Kario?_"

"_Kha'reo?_" the shorter of the two men asked, changing the first syllable into the little throat-noise that always reminded Vala of a spitting cat.

"_Kha'reo_," she smiled. It wasn't often that she voluntarily remembered tidbits from Qetesh's past, but this time the Goa'uld's long-time association with Athena seemed to be paying off. Clearly, this planet had once belonged to Cronus or another of the descendants of the Goa'uld queen Tethys. "_Me... porte... kha'reo sash?_"

Their faces split into grins. "_Elat_." She couldn't be sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least their spears wavered. At her confusion, the speaker made a "come on" gesture, turning back toward the trees and soon disappearing. At the head nod "after you" from the second hunter, Vala pressed the button to close the cargo ship's hatch and set off after the first man.

Neither local seemed surprised to see her or the _tel'tac_, which immediately brightened Vala's hopes of finding a way off this planet before the previous owner of the downed craft came looking for it. Surely such familiarity with Goa'uld technology indicated a reasonable amount of experience with offworlders, perhaps even close proximity to the Stargate. Of course, that could be a _bad_ thing if this particular world was now a part of Ba'al's ever-expanding domain... but why dwell on the unknown?

After nearly an hour's walk, the undergrowth cleared, giving way to a field of early summer grains, not yet tall enough to obscure her view of the stone buildings of the village ahead. Stacked as much as three stories high and clustered tightly, the structures wouldn't have been out of place on any number of worlds. No matter how many planets she visited, it was always nice to see swathes of familiarity, and she thanked the long-forgotten First World for spawning such a spread of creatively-challenged children.

A welcoming party awaited the return of the hunters, more spear-wielding villagers standing by in case Vala should decide to be foolishly reckless and attack the lot. At the fringes of the greeters were women and children, easing her brief fear that this might be one of those ludicrously un-enlightened worlds that didn't allow women to be seen. She'd accidentally stumbled across one of those in her early forays free of Qetesh, and had to muster a great deal of cunning and an unusual amount of patience to win her way free.

She couldn't understand what was being said, but no one seemed to be making any threatening gestures. Actually, the shorter of the two hunters _was_ pointing at her, but he seemed to be indicating her fair skin and blue-gray eyes--traits which the swarthier natives did not share. The gray-haired man standing at the center of the welcoming committee said something which vaguely sounded like the Tethysian word for "sky" and looked upward, which sparked a round of laughter from the assemblage.

Unsure whether to smile or not, Vala cleared her throat and was about to mangle another request to be taken to the Stargate, when a new voice replied to the leader's comment. This prompted an answer from the gray-haired man, who then gestured to the unseen figure. Vala turned to her right to see the gathered villagers part slightly to allow passage of the tallest of any local she'd seen yet. He was nearly a full hand above her own height, which made him stick out among his fellows, especially as he wore a deep straw hat to shade his face.

The leader spoke again, this time asking something which Vala didn't quite catch. "I'm sorry," she began, spreading her hands, "but I don't understand you."

"He asked if you were friend to Demetta or foe," the tall one translated in a clear, strong voice. Vala blinked in surprised, turning to look at him and noting the villagers were doing the same. He rattled something off in their language, shrugging apologetically.

"That depends," she began, glancing around. "Which is likely to get me safely to the _Chappa'ai?_"

His arms crossed his chest. "Uh, 'friend' would. They haven't seen Demetta in over a thousand moons, so don't really know what the Goa'uld are like."

"What _are_ the Goa'uld like?" she asked, curious.

He shrugged again. "How would I know?"

Vala frowned. "But you just said they 'don't really know what the Goa'uld are like'. That implies_ you_ know what they're like."

"Don't you?"

"Don't I what?"

He sighed. "Okay, let's start over again. I'm called Theadan. This village is Makosis, and its leader is Atrus. The two men who brought you here are Darian and Eschius."

She offered her most winning smile. "Pleased to meet you, Theadan! I am Vala Mal Doran."

"So... what brings you crashing to this planet, Vala Mal Doran?" he asked.

"It was an emergency landing," she corrected. "My ship was badly damaged by an ion storm, and I just barely managed to make it safely to this lovely planet. I pulled some of the parts in need of repair and am hoping to take them through the _Chappa'ai_ so I can return and fix my ship. I have a deadline to meet... I'm carrying some _very_ important cargo which is supposed to be on another planet in a matter of days, so as quickly as possible, if you don't mind."

"Hmm," he answered non-committally, hesitating before translating her statement back to Atrus. Upon receiving replies from the leader and the shorter hunter, he grimaced and turned back to her. "Darian's agreed to lead us to the Circle of Stars--uh, _Stargate _tomorrow morning."

"Us?"

"Yeah... they think I should go with you since I speak your language," Theadan sighed, arms tightening against his body.

"Why _do_ you speak my language?" she asked.

"Uh... I don't know?"

Vala crossed her arms in a deliberate mirror of his pose. "How can you not know?"

His arms dropped. "Because I don't? Look, uh, I have no memory of my life before I woke up on this planet, so just drop the interrogation, okay?" At a question from one of the villagers, he responded with another self-conscious hunching of his shoulders. Atrus stepped up to his side and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, speaking at length and indicating Vala with a wave of his hand.

"What was that about?"

Theadan sighed. "They think you could help me figure out who I am. I've tried before to explain what an infinitely vast universe it is out there, but these people don't quite grasp the concept."

"But you do," she countered.

"Yeah. I guess I do." He pointed upward. "Anyway, the sun will be setting in just a few candles, so you're welcome to spend the night."

Vala quirked a grin. "With you?"

She was sure he was blushing beneath the straw hat. "N-no! Uh, there's a residence for, um... unmarried women."

"A whorehouse?"

"No!" he cried out. "Uh... more like a boarding school?"

"That'll work," Vala sighed. Just as she was about to ask where _he_ stayed, a distant horn sounded: two short blasts followed by a long one.

"Crap," Theadan muttered. Atrus began shouting directions as the villagers split off and dashed about madly. A few of the orders were directed at Theadan, and he nodded in response.

"What's going on?"

He stepped over to her and gently took her arm. "The horns tell us when the Stargate is activated. Just in case there are Jaffa, you and I need to hide in the root cellar of the travelers' hall."

"Why?"

Theadan blew out a breath. "Because our height, light-colored skin, and pale eyes kinda give us away as foreigners."

Now that he was close enough for her to see into the shadows of his hat, Vala realized his irises were an intense sky blue, set in a handsome, strong-jawed face.

Definitely _not _from around here.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//evil grin// I will do my best to keep my deadlines! I did well with the last 'fic I set dates on, so here's hopin'... 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Oh," she replied simply, allowing him to lead her toward the tallest building in the village. "How long do we have to hide?"

"Until the all-clear is sounded," he answered. "That took almost a week last time, and the villagers kidded me about smelling like _milret_ for a long time."

"_Milret_?"

"A _very _stinky root."

"Ah. Well, I hope it's not very long this time, because the_ last _thing I need is a Jaffa patrol finding my ship."

"Yeah, that would suck," he answered. He licked his lower lip. "May I ask you a question, Vala Mal Doran?"

"Just Vala, please," she smiled. "Go ahead."

He opened the door to the travelers' hall and ushered her inside the surprisingly cool building, grabbing a lantern from the entryway. Flipping back the woven rug on the floor, he dug his fingers into a groove and lifted a cleverly-disguised trapdoor. "Do you know what 'release your burden' means?"

Vala shook her head. "Sell all your loot?" His grimace spoke all-too-clearly what he thought of her guess as he cautiously climbed down the long ladder into the pitch-black cellar. After he reached the bottom and lit his lantern, she quickly followed after, guessing the villagers would see to concealing the entrance. They were perhaps twice her own height below-ground, long rows of hanging herbs bringing the already-close ceiling almost uncomfortably low. She guessed the space between the building's floor and the cellar's ceiling was likely filled with earth to muffle the sound.

If she was uncomfortable with the head-room, Theadan was _miserable_. He'd removed the silly straw hat and was bent over, hunching his shoulders as he passed through the dangling roots to a small living area closed off from the main chamber by wooden partitions. There was a table, two cots, and even a small fire place. She guessed the curtained-off corner was for personal needs.

"'Sell all my loot'?" Theadan repeated, flopping heavily onto one of the two cots. "No, that can't be it."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's one of the few things I remember from... before. There's a woman's voice, and she says 'release your burden'."

"Ex-girlfriend? I've gone with a few guys who couldn't release their burdens."

"No, I get a sense of... maternal encouragement." His thick brows knitted.

"Well, in_ my_ experience," Vala grinned, depositing herself on the cot beside him, "their mothers were usually the burden they needed to release!"

Theadan shot her an amused look. "Got a thing for Momma's Boys?"

"Why? Are you one?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. "Oh, sorry... I didn't mean--"

"It's okay," he smiled in that sad, self-deprecating way of his. "To be honest, I get the impression I was stubbornly independent."

"Was?"

"Am. I figure _some_ things never change, right?"

Vala laughed, then stifled the noise. "I guess we need to be quiet while we're stuck down here?"

"Nobody's come to close up the trapdoor yet, but yeah," he replied.

"Damn, that means we can't pass the time by having sex." When his face flamed, she had to smother another laugh. "You're not a prude are you, Theadan?"

"Uh... not exactly, no... but I don't think I was ever used to women being very... um, blatant?" He'd shifted the distance of a few fingers away as he spoke.

"Well, the women of your world must be blind if they weren't chasing _you_ like _hiel'na_s in heat."

"Um... funny you should say that, when my vision's not really all that great."

Vala blinked. "You can't see?"

"I can't see _clearly_," Theadan corrected. "I'm fine by day, for the most part, but I have to get pretty close to stuff in the dark. I get... distracted by bright sources of light. If someone's walking toward me with a torch, I won't see his face until he's about two arm-spans away."

"All the more reason for us to stick _very_ close together," she teased, laying a hand on his upper thigh. He yelped, jumping straight up and banging his head on a low beam. With a pained moan, he fell back on the mattress, clutching his head. "Sorry, Theadan!" While his reactions to her advances were quite amusing, she hadn't meant for him to get hurt.

"Dan," he whispered after a long moment, uncurling his body a little.

Caught up as she was in admiring what seemed to be solid muscle beneath the rough cloth of his shirt and trousers, she missed what he said. Hmm?"

"Dan," he repeated, peeking at her with one lash-filtered eye. "I don't know what my real name is, but 'Dan' is better than 'Theadan'."

"I thought 'Theadan'--"

"--Is the name the people who found me gave me when they discovered I couldn't remember my own name. It means 'god given', since they say I fell from the sky." He squinted up at her. "Actually, that's what they were laughing about earlier. I appeared in a flash of lightning, and the sound of your ship crashing was similar to thunder. Atrus joked that he was waiting for it to start raining sky-eyed children."

She trilled her tongue in a purring sound. "We could give it a good start..." It was her turn to yelp, as he suddenly surged off the bed, scooping her up under the knees and shoulders and dropping her on the other cot unceremoniously. "You caveman, you!"

"Just knock it off," he moaned, returning to his own bed and wrapping his arms around his head.

"Sure, Dan." She sprawled out on her stomach, propping her chin up on her palm as she stared at him. "You don't strike me as a 'Dan'."

"Yeah, well 'Theadan' sounds like a king or something... and I'm _sure _I wasn't a king."

"Maybe you just judge yourself too harshly."

He frowned. "Well, obviously somebody _else_ judged me pretty harshly, too. Why else would I have had my memory stripped and dumped naked on some planet in the middle of nowhere?"

"Naked?"

"Forget I said that part."

Vala grinned. "Not on your life." He heaved a sigh in response. "Where my people come from, we call variants of the language the locals of _this_ world speak 'Tethysian', after the Queen Goa'uld who spawned the gods of the region."

"You don't say."

"Where _I_ come from, the native language is called 'Atiratu', after the Queen of that particular family. Anyway, my name in that language means 'woman of god', which is a quite ironic name if you knew the whole story."

"Which I'm sure I'm going to get to hear, huh?" he replied sarcastically, now massaging his temples.

"Not this time," Vala promised. "As I was saying, there's a name in Atiratu which suits you: Dana'en. It means 'I am judged'."

He snorted. "Funny. And I suppose you--" Suddenly, he bolted upright, a look of intense introspection on his face. "God is my judge."

"No, 'I am judged'. You may be the hotshot at the local lingo, but--"

He shook his head. "That's not what I meant. My real name means 'God is my judge'. My real name is _Daniel_."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
...But you knew that already. Ha! 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Dan-yel," Vala repeated slowly. "That works, I suppose."

Theadan... no, _Daniel_ blinked at the strange woman. "I guess it does. There's more to it than that, I know, but 'Daniel' is a start."

"You see?" she beamed. "I'm a good influence."

_That_ he doubted. His head was still throbbing where he'd struck the beam, so he resumed gently rubbing the sore spot. "The knot on my head says otherwise."

"Shall I kiss it better?"

"No." He wondered if she was like this with everyone, or if it had just been a _really_ long time since she'd seen another light-eyed male. It couldn't be just him, as the unmarried Makosin women giggled when they saw him and the older ones called him 'exotic'. In the four moons since he had awakened in a clearing not far from where Vala's ship crashed, he'd endured continuous teasing over the way his skin turned red in the sun and his hair lightened to the color of summer grain. He began wearing the floppy hat so he wouldn't sunburn, but the women especially enjoyed joking that he was "ripening" just loudly enough so he could hear them.

The door to the travelers' hall swung open, and he tensed. "Theadan, the horn of clearing has sounded," Atrus called. "You and the lady are welcome to come out... unless you are enjoying yourselves!"

"Funny. We're coming out," Daniel promised. He turned to Vala, switching to the language which sounded more natural to his own ears than the one he'd spoken since he awakened. "The all-clear's been sounded. Let's get out of here and get some supper."

"By all means," she replied, "let's." She stepped over to the cot he was sitting on and lifted her satchel. As she swung it carefully over her shoulder, it made a quiet clinking noise, like stones rattled together.

"What did you say you had in there again?"

"Parts for my ship," she answered, twisting around and tugging the drawstring to open it. "They will look like crystals to your eyes, but they're the parts I need to make repairs."

Taking the slender rod in his hand, he had a sudden flash of memory. He was standing in a gold room, watching as someone else's hands opened a panel in the wall, revealing a row of similar crystals of differing colors. Just as abruptly, the vision faded, and he furrowed his brow in confusion. "This crystal isn't broken."

"No, but it needs to be replaced."

"You don't have to replace them unless they are cracked, clouded, or melted," he countered. "You're not really intending to repair the ship, are you?"

Vala gaped at him momentarily. "And just _how_ do you know that?"

Even though he'd felt he was right, her response confirmed it. "I don't know. Probably the same way I speak your language?"

She plucked the crystal out of his hand. "I wonder what else is in that head of yours. Know where any good treasure maps are?"

"Sorry, fresh out."

Giggling girlishly, she closed her bag. "Give me a call if you find one."

Daniel grabbed the lantern and stood, careful not to smack his head against the ceiling beams again. "Actually..."

"What?"

"I was thinking of leaving with you."

She slipped her arm through his and leaned on him. "I _knew_ you liked me!"

Despite himself, he chuckled. "No, I don't, but I've remembered more things about my past in the last candle than I have in four moons."

"I told you," she grinned, releasing his arm so she could climb the ladder. "I'm a good influence!"

Atrus was waiting for them on the main floor, giving Daniel a wicked grin as he stepped out of the shaft and closed the trapdoor. "Have a good time?"

"Not quite," he answered. "She is argumentative and annoying."

"You could not keep your hands off her?"

He snorted. "The _opposite_. She would not stop touching _me_."

"What do I tell you, _Eranos_?" the older man laughed, calling Daniel by his personal nickname, "sky". Atrus came up with it as a dual reference to his arrival on the planet and the color of his unusual eyes. "The girls at Helena's tease you because they like what they see!"

Daniel sighed. "Speaking of Helena... Could someone show Vala to a room at her house? I thought it best if she stayed with the other unmarried women tonight, rather than the travelers' hall."

"Of course," Atrus agreed. Opening the door, he called out to one of Helena's own daughters, Ithena, asking her to escort the strange woman to the boarding house so she could leave her satchel of "parts" and wash up for dinner.

Turning to Vala, Daniel relayed the instructions. When she left in the company of Ithena, he sighed with relief. "Irritating as she is, when she leaves in the morning, I will go with her."

Atrus nodded. "That is good. Darian was hoping you would walk with him as you speak her language."

"I think it is also my language," he admitted. "Remember in the first moon, how strange my accent was to you?"

The gray-haired leader chuckled, sitting down on the bench just outside the travelers' hall and leaning against the wall. "Your accent is _still_ strange to me."

Daniel rolled his eyes, taking the other end of the bench for himself. "True. But I also had difficulty with many words. I know now that my challenge was that I was not speaking my native tongue. The words come easily with Vala, as though they are already there and do not need to be learned."

"You think she is of your people?"

Gazing at the front door of Helena's house, he shrugged. "I have my doubts--our accents are very different--but I do not truly know. What I _do_ know, though, is that in talking to her this last candle, I have regained a very important memory and had another vision."

Atrus nodded. "That is very good! What did you remember?"

"The vision was not clear," he explained, "but I seemed to recognize one of the parts for Vala's ship. More importantly, though, I have remembered my true name, or at least part of it: Daniel."

"Da-nee-el," the village leader repeated carefully. "I like it, _Eranos_. What does it mean?"

"'God is my judge,'" he answered, "which might be surprisingly accurate, given the state and manner in which I arrived here. Maybe I offended my god?"

"You sound as though you do not believe that."

Daniel grimaced. "Actually, I do not think I ever believed in gods."

Atrus lifted an eyebrow. "A man without a god could therefore not be judged by one. Who then passed such a judgement upon you?"

"Maybe Vala is correct," he sighed. "Perhaps I judged myself."

"Now _that_ I believe. You never see your own gifts, _Eranos_, though we named you a gift from Tseus himself." Atrus clapped his shoulder. "When you say you are to go with Vala on the morrow, do you mean to travel to the Circle of Stars and back again, or to travel with her _through_ the Circle?"

"Through the Circle," Daniel answered, biting his lip. "I have remembered so little of substance in four moons, and I fear it is because I do not belong here." He wrapped his arms around himself. "I have long believed I was stripped of memory as punishment for some serious misdeed, but my judge did not wish me harm. I was left _here_ to remain in safety."

"Even so, Da-nee-el," Atrus began, "I can think of no greater sentence for you than denying you answers. You are always so full of questions! Remember how you were with the travelling minstrels? I do not believe you to have ever been anything but a good man, and I'll not hear you say another word further on that matter."

Daniel smiled. "As always, you know such polite ways to tell me to shut up."

"I have four daughters and a wife... I hear enough complaining at home!" He chuckled. "'Oh, Papi, Theadan does not smile at me when I walk by!' 'Oh, Papi, Theadan did not talk to me when he helped me carry water from the river!'"

The younger man blushed, unsure how to respond. "Are you certain they are complaining?"

"Oh, yes... all evening long," Atrus confirmed, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I do not know what it is that makes you refuse to see the good in yourself, _Eranos_. You are as tall and broad at the shoulder as almost any Jaffa, yet you do not think yourself strong. Your features are not displeasing to the young ladies, yet you think yourself unattractive. Maybe this Vala will help you to find not only your true self, but the _belief_ in yourself, as well."

Daniel swallowed. "Then I leave with your blessing?"

The village leader sighed. "Melia, the girls, and I will miss you, Da-nee-el, and I doubt there is anyone in Makosis who would not say the same. You have been as a son to me, _Eranos_, and at other times, a younger brother--most especially when I tease you about your fair coloring, or when you wield that sharp wit at _my_ expense. I will never forget the day you appeared to Darian, Eschius, and me. You were so lost and alone, a giant of a man compared to us, yet weak as a babe... speaking in strange tongues and shivering with the cold. Though you knew nothing of yourself, you gave me your trust, calling me 'Zhek', though you did not know what that word meant."

"I still do not," Daniel admitted.

"Yet it was the first thing you would say when you awoke from a terrible dream, as though the word or name brought you solace. I am pleased you let me be the 'Zhek' you needed those first days, and pleased that I _could_ be of comfort."

Daniel remembered those first days, how he would wake from sleep with the ghost of terror causing his heart to race, yet having no recollection of the nightmare itself. The feelings they provoked remained though, haunting him with a maelstrom of sorrow, anger, pain, fear, and shame. Though not as frequent as they had once been, the dreams still came to him some nights; they were the reason he knew, deep inside, he'd committed some grave error or unspeakable evil and been exiled, naked of body and mind.

"Vala is a wise woman to see so soon that your most critical judge is yourself," Atrus continued, finally lowering his hand from Daniel's shoulder. "After witnessing you leap into the flooded river to save young Mikos last moon, I find it hard to believe you could be afraid of anything, yet you continuously worry about your past. Face your fear, Da-nee-el: rediscover who you are. Judge yourself fairly with all the facts before you."

The younger man swallowed heavily. "My greatest fear is that if I finally discover my past, I will not like the person I was. That I do not have it within myself to atone for whatever sin I have committed."

Atrus clicked his tongue against the inside of his teeth. "_Eranos_, I see before me a _good_ man. Travel to the stars with this woman who speaks your language. I believe with all my heart that you will find in yourself not only a _good_ man, but a _great _one. Yet should you not find any answers out there," he continued, gesturing at the stars twinkling against the darkening sky, "know that you will always have a place with the people of this village."

Daniel could feel tears prickling his eyes, but he resolutely withheld them. "I pledge to return if I find nothing," he vowed. "I also pledge to return if I discover the good man in whom you believe, even if it is for but a short visit. I could never repay you or anyone else here for the kindness you have shown me these last four moons."

"Your safe return is payment enough," Atrus smiled gently. He rose to his feet, cupping Daniel's cheek affectionately. "It does not matter if your past returns--though I certainly hope it does--nor does it matter if it be fair or ill. And for the love of Demetta, _Eranos_, accept the affections of a fine woman! I still wait for my rainstorm of sky-eyed babes!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Yes, 'shippers are permitted to squee at this point...

Got it out of your system yet? No? Drat!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning, Daniel woke to find the village in frantic motion. Although the notice had been short, the people were determined to give him a farewell party. Dressing, he packed his meager belongings, which consisted of a change of clothes and the small box of woodcarvings he'd made to keep his hands occupied while his thoughts leapt about like a festival dancer. He'd given most of the figures he'd created to the village children, but a small few held a trace of significance to the elusive parts of his mind. The lack of luggage didn't bother him any, though, and he got the impression he'd packed up and left many times in his forgotten life.

Maybe that was why he was having such a difficult time remembering: he'd never been one to cling to his own past. Now, the past in general interested him, as he'd discovered when a troupe of travelling entertainers visited Makosis within Daniel's first moon in the village. He'd hung on every word and gesture as the master bard wove epics and sagas into living, breathing stories, discovering later that he'd committed the tales to memory with little effort, though not quite word-for word. Still, the elderly storyteller had been impressed, inviting Daniel to apprentice with him. Still new to the world, the language, the people, and himself most especially, Daniel declined, but the bard asked him to decide carefully before he returned again in the summer. If Daniel went with Vala now, he would likely miss the return of the gypsies.

He weighed the thought carefully, then dismissed it. Leaving through the Stargate afforded him a greater opportunity to rediscover who he was, as it was obvious now that he was from another world entirely. Daniel felt certain Vala was not of his own people, but at least the language they shared was more familiar, came to his lips with less difficulty. He promised himself that if he hadn't found any solid answers by the next winter, he would return to Makosis and join the traveling minstrels.

Atrus waited for him outside Daniel's room in the unmarried men's dwelling. "Are you ready, _Eranos_?"

"I have the feeling I am always saying goodbye," Daniel admitted. "Perhaps I have never been meant to stay any one place for long."

"Even the traveling minstrels have a place to call 'home'," the older man advised. "Perhaps you live in the journey, not the destination."

That statement struck a chord deep within him. "I believe you are right, friend, and I will certainly miss you."

Atrus clasped his shoulder. "And I you. But before you depart, there are many in this village who wish to see you!"

Daniel groaned theatrically, but allowed himself to be led out of the men's house. A cheer greeted him when he stepped into the early morning light, shielding his pale eyes from the already-bright rays. "Safe journey, Theadan!"

He glanced at Atrus, and the village leader splayed his hands. "I did not tell them your true name, for I know it matters naught to them if you were judged or by whom. You will always be our gift." Daniel frowned and opened his mouth, but was interrupted. "_Eranos_, allow yourself to enjoy these moments without self-doubts. If we never see each other again, I want to go to Tseus knowing your last candle with us was spent joyfully."

Nodding, Daniel began to turn back toward the waiting villagers, but caught sight of Vala out of the corner of his eye. The strange woman was sprawled across one of the ever-present benches lining the front walls of the buildings, crunching noisily on a piece of fruit. He started to move in her direction, but a gentle push at the small of his back reminded him that Atrus intended this farewell to be for him alone. She was not one of them, and he would have plenty of time to speak with her in the near future.

Mikos, the young boy he had saved from a near-drowning during the spring floods, hesitantly stepped forward. "We wish we had more time to give you a proper sending off, Theadan, but we understand that time is short for the lady." He gulped air and continued. "We named you 'gift' when we found you, and a gift you proved to be not only when you saved my life, but countless ways since that morning four moons ago. It is not in your humble nature to accept thanks for even the smallest of deeds, yet we wish to offer you tokens by which to remember us."

Melia, the wife of Atrus, and their four daughters stepped forward, a length of cloth clutched in the hands of the youngest. "You have been as son and brother to us," the older woman smiled. "We clothed you when you were brought to us bare. For this parting, we clothe you again: take this neck-wrap, so that you will be untroubled by whatever chilly winds may blow beyond the stars."

Daniel accepted the scarf, eyes stinging. The women could not have created the beautiful garment overnight, and must have been planning it for some time. Made of soft lambs' wool, the yarns alternated deep blue, cream, and gold.

"The colors represent the features for which we teased you most," the eldest daughter explained, "your eyes, skin, and hair. You are unique to us, Theadan, and we will miss you."

"And I you," he replied, grateful his voice did not betray him. "All of you." The weather was far too warm to wear the scarf, though, so he carefully folded it and tucked it in his satchel.

Nelus, the village smith and Mikos' father, moved up beside his son, the drawstrings of a small bag looped around his wrist. "At first we thought it strange how you would take a piece of wood and fashion it into a toy... of course, we find much about you strange, as you well know. Still, the joy the children have found in the simple figures has been wondrous to behold. As you leave us to regain your past, take with you these wood-crafting tools, so that you may continue to carve your little marvels wherever your path takes you."

Daniel accepted the parcel of tools with a gracious nod, not trusting himself to speak. He placed the gift in his satchel, and on impulse, pulled out the box of carvings. He spied a particular rounded carving and drew it out, handing it to Atrus. "I leave you with one final gift. Like so many things, I do not know the true meaning of the shapes carved into this circle, but I think it means 'family' or 'home'... or as much of either as I ever had in my old life. Please place this where anyone can see it, so that they will look upon it and know that this place was 'home' for me."

Atrus' eyes crinkled, cradling the disk in his hands. "It will be hung above the door to the traveler's hall, so that all who pass beneath it will be... home." He then pulled Daniel into a hug. "Be safe, _Eranos_."

"Thank you again," he whispered in the older man's ear. "Vala's ship lies not far off the direction we must take to reach the Circle of Stars. As she does not intend to return to repair it, I believe it best that we find a way to destroy it. Then if any Jaffa come here, you can say it was destroyed when it crashed. I hope it will save you from any unwanted questions. It may be dangerous, so please ask everyone to stay away from the wreck for now."

"Everyone will remain in the village," Atrus promised, pulling away reluctantly. Again, he cupped Daniel's face in his palm. "Remember to come back to us, _Eranos_."

"I will," Daniel promised. Shouldering his bag, he waved to everyone and set off on his new journey, Darian somberly taking the lead.

Vala bounded up from her bench, grabbing her own satchel and catching up to the men as they passed the last building. "Well, _that_ was touching," she commented.

"Knock it off," he growled. Perhaps sensing his mood, she quieted.

They crossed into the trees, the numerous conifers soon swallowing up the view of village. When the travelers entered the swath of destruction left by the crashing ship, Daniel asked Darian to wait for them, then motioned for Vala to follow.

"I told you the ship doesn't work," she protested, jogging a little to catch up to his long-legged strides.

"We need to destroy it," he replied.

"_Destroy_ it?"

"Yes. If Jaffa find this ship, they will want to know who was aboard. Naturally they will question the nearest village. If they find only its wreckage, they will believe its passengers to have perished in the crash."

Her mouth snapped shut. "That's not a bad idea, actually."

"I have those occasionally," he answered sarcastically.

"Mee-_yow_," she huffed. The unexpected response drew a grin from him, though he wasn't sure why he found it so funny. It served to lighten the mood, though.

They were now close enough to the ship that he could see its actual shape, and not just the dull gray blob it had been up until now. It seemed oddly familiar, so he was sure that he had been near a vessel of its construction in his past. "So... any idea how to make it look like it... burst into flames? Blew up on impact?"

Vala nodded, stepping up to one side of the craft and pressing buttons on a small panel. "It should have a self-destruct mechanism... most do."

"Why would anyone want to blow up their own ship?" he asked. "Oh, besides us, of course. Forget I asked."

A seam split on the wall as doors slid open. "Did they overload you with too many parting gifts, or do you have room in your bag for a few more items?"

He hefted the satchel. "There's room enough, I guess. Depending on what you plan to pack in there, of course."

"A few more crystals," she answered, "and I should probably get you your own _zat'nik'tel_ the first chance we get."

"Zat-ni-_what?_"

"Zat-nick-uh-tell," she repeated more slowly. "It's a type of energy weapon that... never mind, it's a defensive weapon. Where we're going, you'll probably need to be armed."

He pointed at the holster strapped to her thigh. "What about one of those?"

Vala's hand dropped to the butt of the pistol. "You recognize it?"

"It's a handgun," he answered. "Yet another of those things I know but really can't explain. It fires projectiles at very high velocities, doesn't it?"

"Actually, this particular model fires bursts of energy, but most are projectile-based." She cocked her head to one side. "I suppose we could get you one of these, too... but you'll first have to prove you know how to use your weapon." She grinned slyly, winking at the unintended innuendo.

"Funny. Why don't we just start with the zat, and go from there?"

"'Zat?' Oh, I suppose." She stepped into the darkened cabin, motioning for him to follow. Cautiously, he entered the wrecked ship, carefully moving to keep his balance on the pitched deck. Following Vala into a compartment at the rear of the vessel, he held open his shoulder bag while she selected more of the crystals. The resemblance to the panel from his brief flashback was uncanny, though the one from his memory had had considerably fewer melted and fractured rods than this.

At last, Vala decided she'd salvaged as much as she could and gestured for Daniel to step out of the ship. A moment later, she emerged. "We have a minute to get out of the way," she warned as they walked quickly back in the direction they'd come. Just as they reached where Darian was waiting, there was a low rumble and the ground shook. Looking back toward the cargo ship, Daniel could see a dark plume of smoke rising.

"That should do it," Vala nodded, satisfied.

Darian was puzzled. "Why did she destroy her boat?"

"When she showed me one of the parts last night, I recognized it from my other life and realized her, uh, 'boat' could not be repaired easily. We removed her cargo of crystals and destroyed the boat so that the Jaffa would not come looking for passengers."

"Crystals?"

"Yes. We put them in our packs," Daniel explained, inwardly marveling at what a _bad_ influence Vala was turning out to be. He'd never deliberately lied to any of the Makosins before, and here he was spouting little white ones.

They passed the next two candles making idle chatter, Daniel translating between the hunter and the woman when needed. Less than three candles after the start of their journey, they reached the sentry station near the Stargate.

"Hail, sentry!" Darian called out in greeting. "I bring two travelers who wish to pass through the Circle of Stars!"

The sentry on duty leaned over the tower's rail. "Hail, Darian! The Circle stands empty for the moment, but yesterday a cart was sent through."

"Cart?" Daniel questioned.

"The horn of clearing was sounded, Baeloc," Darian protested.

The man nodded. "The cart was not pulled by man or beast and did not move further after the water drained from the circle."

"What's going on?" Vala asked, waiting for the translation. Daniel quickly explained that some sort of probe had arrived through the Stargate, but had been inactive since the wormhole collapsed. "So it's safe to go on?"

"Yes," Baeloc replied after the question was relayed. "It has made no movement at all this morning. I do wonder about the column of smoke back in the direction you came. Was it that boat which crashed yesterday?"

"It was," Darian confirmed. "Theadan felt it best it be destroyed so that Jaffa would not seek the boat's passenger--the lady who travels with us."

The sentry smiled. "I had heard of you, Theadan... well met. Well met, lady."

"Well met, Baeloc, and farewell." Daniel replied, for himself and Vala. "We are going through the Circle to find my past, and she has business beyond the stars. Perhaps one day I will return, but it will not be soon."

"Farewell and good luck."

Darian smiled and laid his spear across his chest. "The Circle lies just ahead, Theadan. Good luck, friend, and farewell."

"And you, as well," Daniel replied, crossing his right hand to his left shoulder, since he carried no weapon. Quick to catch on, Vala mimicked the movement.

They exited the trees and stood before the Stargate. Daniel _knew_ he had seen it before, though no images came to mind. He stood close to Vala as she touched panels on the pedestal facing the ring, causing lights to shine on the console and the Stargate itself. Then, with a great roar, a column of blue shot out from the ring before settling back into a shimmering pool of light.

Sparing only a brief glance for the wheeled contraption standing beside the Stargate, Vala grinned. "Your first time through can be a little unnerving if you don't know what to expect." She held out her arm, and Daniel automatically linked elbows with her. "Let's go."

Together, they stepped into the event horizon.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Aaaaaaaand they're off! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Chevron seven will not engage."

Colonel Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes. "It worked fine yesterday afternoon!" Up in the control room of the SGC, Sergeant Walter Harriman shrugged his shoulders in reply.

Without needing to be asked, Major Samantha Carter exited the 'Gate room and soon reappeared next to Walter. The two computer geeks consulted their monitors, while Jack shot looks of exasperation at his other two teammates, Teal'c and Jonas Quinn. The funny thing about making faces around those two was that the big Jaffa wouldn't twitch a muscle in response, while the Kelownan couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

Through the glass, he could see Carter and Walter alternatively shaking and nodding their heads, while General George Hammond loomed behind them. He was apparently trying for a look of concerned understanding but when he met Jack's gaze, it was more like 'drowning in technobabble'. There was also a slight twinkle of wry amusement in his eyes, as though silently telling the colonel, "That's just your luck, isn't it?"

Finally, the techno-geeks seemed to come to a consensus, and the Stargate started dialling again. Walter didn't announce the chevrons this time, though, as he was busy frowning at his computer, instead. The seventh chevron locked successfully, spilling bright blue light out into the 'Gate room.

"Sweet!" Jack muttered. "Carter, get down here and let's go!"

The astrophysicist spared a word or two for Walter, then bounded back down to meet her teammates. "Sorry, sir, we have no idea why it didn't lock the first time. MALP's clear, though, so we should be good to go."

"Then by all means," the colonel replied, "let's." Striding up the ramp, Jack emerged on the other side of the wormhole on P11-who-really-cared and took note of the sunshine, the clean air, and--of course--the ever-present trees. They were conifers, too, making them of the even _more _exasperatingly common kind.

"The naquadah readings aren't very strong, sir," Carter began, almost immediately after stepping through the 'Gate herself. "Still, there's enough of a concentration to warrant investigation."

"Thus why we are here," he replied.

Jonas, third through the 'Gate, was looking around at the ground. "I'd say this 'Gate sees some fairly regular use, Colonel. The grass is pretty tall, but it looks like some people have been walking around recently."

"That could be why the chevrons wouldn't lock," Carter suggested. "Maybe someone was using it at the time."

"Coming or going?" Jack asked.

"Leaving," Teal'c confirmed, squatting so he could look at the ground more closely. "The most recent footsteps go toward the Stargate. Another's footsteps approached, but he appears to have only investigated the MALP."

"So there's a good chance the locals know we're here," Jack concluded. "All right, eyes peeled, kids. Carter, you can play with your mineral samples later, we're not alone."

"O'Neill," Teal'c warned. Jack spun around, weapon pointed at the figure just emerging from the trees. He was short--probably not more than five-foot-six--and wearing simple brown clothes. He also carried a spear in his right hand.

"Hello," the colonel offered casually, but the man didn't reply. "Jonas? You want to do the whole... meet'n'greet thing?"

The young alien nodded, holding his hands out carefully to his sides to show he was unarmed. "Hi... my name's Jonas Quinn. We're explorers from a planet called Earth."

No matter how many times the Kelownan said those words, they always sounded wrong to Jack's ears. It had nothing to do with Jonas' technique, though, but rather the colonel's own belief that the "peaceful explorer" routine would ever be right again. The original peaceful explorer, of course, had been dead for more than a year.

"Uh, I don't think he speaks our language," Jonas said.

"Well, _that's_ new," Jack replied sarcastically. "He doesn't seemed surprised to see us, though."

"No, he doesn't," Carter agreed.

Actually, the native looked pretty darn amused. "Dah-ree-an," he pronounced, tapping himself on the chest.

"Dah-ree-an," Jonas repeated, pointing first at the native, then himself. "Jonas."

"Jo-nas."

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud," Jack muttered under his breath, but he held his temper while the team's "cultural liaison" finished introducing the rest of the team.

"_Kha'reo_," the grinning native said. "_Elat._" He gave a wide gesture, and an almost-ear-splitting blast sounded from a horn nearby.

"What the hell?" the colonel winced, rubbing his ear with the heel of his hand.

"I think he wants us to go with him," Jonas guessed. "The language _could be_ similar to Ancient Greek, but I'm not sure. I think he said we should follow him to his 'town', though. The horn could be part of some kind of early warning system, like a sentry or guard tower."

Gesturing for Carter to lead the way, Jack had to clamp down on the urge to point out that Daniel would have _already_ been merrily chatting away with the local, finding out the local history, the best restaurants, directions to the nearest ancient ruins... but Jonas wasn't Daniel, and Jonas could _never_ be Daniel.

Four months. Four long, agonizing months had dragged by since Anubis blew up Abydos, and there'd been no sign of Daniel. No sudden appearances in elevators, no whacky dreams of another life, not even a stray gust from the air vents. As much as he hated to think so, Jack was worried the Ascended linguist might have bitten off more than he could chew when he took on Anubis... and it was Jack's fault for pushing him to do it. Then there was the _other_ impending anniversary...

"Are you well, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm retiring," he blurted.

"Sir?" Carter asked, coming to a halt.

He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but the cat was out of the bag now, wasn't it? "I'm retiring. This is my last mission, kids; I gave Hammond my notice this morning."

"Why did you not tell us sooner?" the Jaffa questioned.

"Because I didn't want it to affect this mission any," he admitted. "You caught me off-guard though, so I guess _that_'s out."

"Sir, does this have anything to do with--"

"Next week's one-year anniversary of Daniel's death and ascension? Today's four-month anniversary of the destruction of Abydos? I'd be lying if I said 'no', but it's not the only reason. In the immortal words of Roger Murtaugh: I'm gettin' to old for this shit."

Jonas looked stunned. "Colonel, there's still a lot--"

"--That can be done by younger officers with better knees," Jack interrupted. "Hell, Carter might even get command of SG-1. Now let's get back to the matter at hand... Darius over there is looking worried."

"Darian," the native corrected, not looking even the slightest bit worried, really. Apparently satisfied everyone was going to follow him again, he set off through the woods at a hurried walk.

"He's in a bit of a hurry," Jack commented.

Jonas exchanged a few words with the native. "If I'm understanding this correctly, he wants to get back to town before the midday meal."

"They're on Mountain time?" the colonel joked.

"Actually, sir, this planet's day is shorter than--"

"I was _kidding_, Carter."

"Oh."

He grinned. _This_ he would miss when he retired. Not shooting bad guys, overwhelming odds, dying friends... He would miss joking around with his team. Carter took everything literally, and Jonas did too, at times. One never knew what Teal'c was thinking and Daniel-- Well, Daniel was dead. But when he'd been alive--and Jack wasn't behaving like an ass toward him--he could fall into either camp or give as well as he got.

Tired of dwelling on what had-been-and-could-never-be-again, Jack turned his attention to the terrain. Scrubby and flat, the ground was covered with thick grass and weedy-looking cedars just tall enough to keep a person from seeing where they were going. The pleasantly warm air was refreshingly clean, and he took a deep breath to enjoy it.

Or maybe not so clean. "I smell smoke."

"As do I."

"It's too soon to be near his village," Carter protested.

Jonas exchanged a few halting words with their guide. "He says it's a... 'boat'. One which fell from the sky and burst into flames."

"'Fell from the sky'?" Jack repeated.

"Probably a spaceship," the major reasoned. "Jonas, how big a ship? Are we talking a glider or a mothership?"

"More like a glider," the Kelownan answered after a moment. "He says they went to investigate it and found it destroyed. I get the impression it wasn't a very big one or we'd be seeing a lot of damage from it."

"This counts as damage, doesn't it?" Jack asked a moment later, as the trees parted to reveal a scar in the terrain where _something _levelled the woods.

"Judging by the width, I'd say a glider or a cargo ship," Carter assessed.

"I concur."

"Should we go check it out?" she asked.

Darian held up his hand, speaking quickly. "He says he's on his way back to town, whether we choose to follow or not."

Squinting at the smoking smudge on the landscape, Jack shook his head. "We'll check it out on our way back, then."

About an hour later, the woods broke again, this time into an open wheat field, a village of stone sticking up out of the flat ground. Darian began to shout something, and after a long moment, there was a reply.

"He's telling them it's all right, that we're not--"

"Yeah I understood _that _word," Jack interrupted. "We're not Jaffa. Well, except for Teal'c."

"Indeed."

Slowly, people began to trickle out of the buildings. By the time the team reached the outskirts of town, a sizeable crowd had gathered, a gray-haired man at their center. There were many people both older and younger, but it seemed that this guy was their leader.

"I'm not quite sure what they're saying," Jonas admitted. "They're talking a little too fast for me to catch it all..."

The gray-haired man chuckled at their guide's words, offering a few laughing words of his own.

"Something about going out again and coming back with more? I think he was making a joke," the younger man guessed. "It seems the reason Darian was at the Stargate was because he was leading two people to it."

"That's why we couldn't dial in," Carter reasoned.

"Dropped off two people and came back with four," Jack nodded. "Two-for-one deal?"

Jonas frowned. "Now they're talking about our skin and hair. Major Carter and I have much lighter skin than they're used to seeing and... now they're getting excited about Sam's blue eyes."

"That makes sense... they all have dark hair and eyes. Darker skin, too."

"Théoden... isn't that the King of Rohan?" Jack asked, catching a word from the rapid chatter.

The gray-haired leader stared at him. "Theadan?"

"Yeah, that. What's that mean, Jonas?"

"I think it's a name?" he guessed. "Uh... yeah, Atrus says he is a man of my height and coloring, but Major Carter's eye color."

"Not a local, I take it?"

"Actually, they say he lived with them until this morning. He was one of the two people Darian took to the Stargate."

Suddenly, a child who had been creeping closer and closer to Jack, yelled something and ran back into the village. Whatever he said created a considerable stir, and the village leader cut his way back through the crowd to follow the boy.

"What's that all about?" Jack asked, fingers twitching on his P90. He had been hoping this mission would be an easy one, but natives were yelling and that was _never_ a good sign.

"I have no idea," Jonas sighed. "But look at the rest of them: they seem agitated a little, but certainly not afraid."

Just then, Atrus returned with the boy at his side, the latter carrying a flat, circular object. Taking the item from the boy, the gray-haired man cautiously approached, holding up the circle to Jack's right sleeve. His eyes widened, and he looked up in astonishment. He moved his arm, angling his hand so the colonel could see the carvings on the surface of the disk.

Although a little crude, the etched surface bore an unmistakable resemblance to SG-1's unit patch.

"Where did you get that?" the colonel whispered, constricted throat currently unable to produce proper words.

"Theadan," Atrus repeated.

Jack's heart raced. "Theadan? Not... Daniel?"

"Sir?" Carter questioned, taking a faltering step forward.

"Da-nee-el!" the leader cried in joy, and pointed at the carving again.

"Carter, Teal'c: get back to the Stargate and have Hammond send us a Greek-speaker, pronto!"

"Did he just say '_Daniel_?'" the major gaped.

"You're damn right he did," Jack grinned. "That stubborn son-of-a-gun... Daniel's alive!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Gotta love SG-1 and their timing issues! 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Welcome to Katana!" Vala smiled as they cleared the Stargate. Daniel had clearly done the 'Gate travel thing before, as he didn't even stumble when they reached the other side.

"That was fun," he blinked, twisting to look at the portal behind him as it snapped shut. "Katana?"

"Trade center and planet," she explained, gesturing at the walled city in the valley below them. "I have a few friends here, some of whom will be able to help you get started on finding out who you were. Assuming you can afford to pay them, of course."

"Pay them?"

"You didn't think they'd work for free, did you?"

He frowned. "Isn't that what these crystals are for? To sell?"

"For _me_ to sell," she corrected. "You'll have to come up with your own payment."

His fingers were on her shoulder, pulling her around to face him. "I'm carrying half of them... you couldn't have salvaged them all without me along to help carry them."

"And yours are the least valuable of all. So we'll split it eighty-twenty," she offered.

"Fifty-fifty," he countered. "You wouldn't have gotten back to the Stargate without me translating for you, either."

"Fine. Seventy-thirty."

"Sixty-forty."

"Done, _but_... you're buying your own zat, and those don't come cheaply. You'll also have to save your own money to pay the information collectors, because I'm not helping."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "You can't seriously think there's actually anyone who can figure out which of the thousands of planets in this galaxy I came from. I'm better off remembering things on my own anyway."

"Suit yourself. The odds are against you anyway."

"Well, thanks for the moral support!"

Vala ground her teeth together. "You know, I didn't _ask_ you to come along. It's hard enough to survive out here without dragging along somebody who hasn't the first _clue_ how the rest of the galaxy works. I can't waste the time or money trying to track down every obscure lead about your origins. Now, you're welcome to travel with me, but you'll do what _I_ say, _when_ I say. You don't like it, you can strike out on your own."

His jaw clenched. "Fine."

The trip down the hillside was made in uncomfortable silence, and Vala wondered again what she'd been thinking when she agreed to let him come along. Already, he was proving to be stubborn and argumentative, and the last thing she needed was another problem on her hands. On the plus side, though, he made for an attractive change to the scenery.

"You need new clothes."

Daniel's forehead crinkled. "What's wrong with these?"

Other than the fact they were baggy and unbecoming? "Nothing... but the home-spun look is a bit--peasant-ish. If you're going to be around me, you need to look more like a... smuggler."

"You're a smuggler?"

"Among other things," she replied. "Of course, it's hard to be a smuggler when you don't have a _ship_, and I've never had much luck in that department."

"Keep wrecking 'em?"

"Or getting them re-possessed."

"Re-possessed?"

"By their original owners, of course."

"Oh." He paused. "Wait a minute... re-possessed as in you couldn't pay your loan, or re-possessed as in you _stole_ them and they got them back?"

She sighed. "Does it matter?"

"You're a thief!"

"Among other things," Vala smirked. "Oh, try not to look so mortified, Daniel. I told you it was a rough galaxy."

He stared at her out of narrowed eyes. "Funny how you wait until _after_ we leave Makosis to tell me."

"Would it have mattered?"

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not."

"You should also know... there's no currency standard out here. Everything's paid for through barter."

"So we trade the crystals to someone else who gives something else to trade for what we actually want?"

"Pretty much." She patted him on the back of his shoulder. "Better let me do all the talking, dear."

The city was pretty much like any trade center in the galaxy, with its furtive crowds, vocal vendors, and heaps of garbage lying here and there. Daniel seemed to be only momentarily startled by the sounds and smells, but he must have been well-traveled in his forgotten past. It was a dramatic difference from the almost idyllic village from whence he came, yet he showed no outward discomfort with the shift. He could have been just that good at masking his reactions, but she doubted it.

"First stop is the little place I call my own," she announced. "I rent a small room above a repair shop. It's not much, but it's a place to sleep now and then. The owner will take a few crystals as payment, and if you're going to stay with me, we'll split the rent. She'll probably know a few traders in town who might be interested in the rest of our loot." Daniel nodded and followed behind her.

Winding her way past stalls of noisy vendors, Vala led the way to the two-story stone building owned by Sarilis Camir.

The former bounty hunter had become a good friend to Vala in just a few short years. She was also one of the few people the former host had actually trusted with her past. If Daniel turned out to have anywhere near as colorful a history as her own, it would do well to get him in Sarilis' good graces, too.

"Vala Mal Doran," grinned the shop's proprietor when the door was barely open. "I'd have thought you'd be halfway to the Cardolian Cluster in that ship you nabbed from the Pellian Spaceport."

_That_ was why Sarilis was so scary: she knew about things happening half a galaxy away only hours after the event itself. "Well, the joke was on me, I'm afraid. The cargo ship I grabbed turned out to be _broken_, and I just barely managed to land in one piece."

"Hmmm," Sarilis replied, resuming her work on the cooking appliance in front of her. "Who's your friend?"

"My new apprentice and partner," Vala answered. "Sarilis Camir, meet Theadan of Makosis, also known as Daniel."

"Pleasure to meet you," Daniel offered, smiling slightly.

"Likewise," the shopkeeper responded. "No offense to you, young man, but what in the Great Havens possessed you to take on a partner, Vala?" She eyed Daniel appreciatively. "Besides the obvious, of course."

The blue-eyed man opened his mouth to reply, but Vala quickly looped her arm around his, letting the surprise of the action cut him off. "Actually, we were just about ready to head back out, but stopped in just long enough to pay the rent and let you know we were here."

"You mean you've managed to earn something in your ill-fated adventures?"

Vala grinned and dug into her satchel for two relay crystals. "Daniel, get two of the amber-colored crystals from your bag, please."

"For what?"

"So we can pay the rent, darling."

He crossed his arms stubbornly. "Sixty-forty partnership includes the rent."

She heard the shopkeeper snort, but a glance in the older woman's direction showed her diligently rewiring the appliance, straight-faced. "Fine. Give me two and I'll buy your new clothes for you." Which, of course, she'd intended to do anyway, but he couldn't have known that.

Nodding, he opened his own bag and handed over the requested items. Vala set the lot on the table. "That should settle us for another few months, right?"

"Assuming I can barter 'em off," Sarilis replied. "The only people looking for control crystals of late have been from Lord Yu's territories."

Vala sighed. "Let me guess: they won't even look at a merchant who doesn't speak Zhiangma?"

"You guessed it," she replied. "They'll sell to you all day long in the common tongue, but turn up their noses at anyone trying to sell _to_ them."

The thief grimaced. "My Zhiangma's worse than my Tethysian. Maybe we can find a middle man... though I'd hate to lessen my profit."

Sarilis coughed. "Parts from a stolen ship are always a one hundred-percent profit, aren't they?"

"I'm shocked you would say such a thing," Vala grinned, tossing a wink at the shopkeeper. Hooking her elbow around Daniel's again, she patted his arm. "Come along, darling."

"Whatever you say, sweetie-pie," he replied just as genuinely. Vala was certain she heard another snort out of Sarilis before the shop door banged shut.

"All right," she began, as soon as they were back out in the street. "We're going to sell only enough of these crystals to get by for a few weeks unless we find a good buyer. These Zhiangma merchants are tough-as-nails negotiators and actually _will_ lower themselves to the common tongue if they need something desperately enough. Hopefully, they'll be as desperate to buy as we are to sell."

"Zhiangma, Tethysian, and... Atiratu? And the common tongue, too," Daniel mused. "How many languages _are_ there and what makes the common tongue common?"

"The answer to the first is thousands... maybe even millions, and that's just in _this _galaxy. As for the second question, no one really knows... not even the Goa'uld, and they'd like to think they know _everything_."

He frowned. "Who or what are the Goa'uld?"

Before she could formulate an answer to a question which seemed obvious to her, Vala spotted the brightly-colored hangings which indicated the Zhiangma presence in the bazaar. She slipped out of the almost-too-comfortable arm-link and pointed to the enclosure. "There are our boys. Let me do all the talking... and let's hope that they don't come from the sort of backwater world where women are treated like property."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
'Tis always fun to slip in a familiar OC now and then! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The crowded marketplace was almost an assault to Daniel's senses, yet another part of him welcomed the chaos, as though he'd found another albeit small piece of the enormous puzzle that was his missing life. Although unfamiliar and unusual by themselves, the sounds of vendors shouting and customers haggling combined with the pungent odors of sweat, spice, smoke, and animal excrement to create a unique blend that resonated within him. Just as suddenly and familiarly came a rush of sensation: perusing neatly arranged tables of clothing in a cool, pleasantly-scented environment while a gentle voice offered assistance in shopping. The juxtaposition was extreme, yet each felt just as comfortable and recognizable as the other. Clearly, he'd been a man of many adventures in his other life.

"Oh, great," Vala sighed, drawing Daniel's attention to the portly man standing just inside the brightly colored tents toward which they were walking. "Looks like Andron beat us here with crystals."

Daniel tipped his head slightly, straining to hear the exchange. Clearly, it was not in the "common tongue", and yet he found himself recognizing snatches of the speech. It wasn't until the bald man talking to the trader Vala identified as Andron turned to his close-cropped companion that Daniel realized why the language sounded so broken.

"_His speech is even worse than the quality of his crystals_," Baldy complained. "_I'm afraid that we're going to have to move on to another planet to find the greater starlight speed control crystals we need._"

"_And leave our ship here? No, _Lu, _we must stay here until the right seller comes along or _Mai _returns with the parts from her father._"

"Vala," he began, catching her shoulder as she turned to stomp off. "We wouldn't happen to have any hyperdrive control crystals, would we?"

"They were the first things I salvaged," she admitted. "Why do you ask?"

He couldn't quite smother his grin as Lu turned around from "consulting" with his boss and resumed haggling with Andron in what could only have been a deliberately-poor rendition of the common tongue. "Well, I _think _that's what Lu and uh... Shao are hoping to buy, since they said 'greater starlight speed' control crystals and Andron's crystals just aren't up to snuff."

Vala's jaw dropped. "You speak Zhiangma?"

"Among other things," he smirked.

She whacked him hard across the arm, drawing a pained yelp. "Fine, _you _do all the talking, but translate everything they say back to me and _don't _offer any price but what I tell you to."

He shrugged. "Okay. So you want me to just interrupt, or--"

"Go!"

Working very, very hard to not grin like an idiot, Daniel stepped up to the tent entrance and cleared his throat. "_Pardon my interruption_," he began slowly, the words falling into place as he picked up speed, "_but I couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a communication problem here. How might I assist?_"

It was a wonder Lu didn't get whiplash from jerking his head around to stare at Daniel. "_You have come to translate for this merchant?_"

"_No, but for the woman with whom I travel_," he replied, gesturing toward Vala. The portly merchant who had been attempting to schmooze the Zhiangma merchants levelled a glare at him, then at the dark-haired thief. "_My name is Daniel, and my employer is Vala_." Hearing her name, Vala smiled and nodded hello.

Shao waved dismissively at Andron, who gathered his wares and slunk off sulkily. "_I am Liu Shao and my partner is Kien Lu. What goods do you offer?_"

"_A little bird told us you were looking for crystals_," he began carefully. "_As it so happens, my lady friend here recently acquired a number of them_." He paused, then deliberately asked Vala, "What sort of crystals did you say you had again?"

One could never accuse the woman of being a slow thinker. "All sorts. Everything from simple power-regulation crystals to navigational data storage and hyperdrive control."

"_I am not quite sure how to translate these into your language, but she said we offer--"_

"There will be no need to translate," Shao interrupted, speaking the common tongue flawlessly, as Daniel suspected he might. "You have proven your skill at the language, Master Daniel." His eyes crinkled at Vala. "And clever are you for hiring a translator."

"He's my _partner_, but it so happens he knows a few useful languages," Vala grinned. "Now, I'm willing to sell any of these crystals you wish to buy."

Shao gestured grandly at a cluster of cushions gathered around a low table. "Shall we begin?"

The negotiations began in earnest, then, with Vala clearly in her element. The majority of her dealings were for weights of something called naquadah, but a trio of the red crystals were traded for a pair of zats. Finally, bartering was begun for the hyperdrive controllers, and even Daniel could tell the raven-haired woman's starting offer was high.

After a few counter-offers had been exchanged, Shao coughed lightly and looked directly at Daniel. "_I don't suppose the same little bird told you which crystals we most needed, did it?_"

He glanced at Vala. "_I _might_ have overheard something_," he admitted.

The two traders exchanged astonished looks which segued into grins, drawing a questioning glare from Vala. "What did you tell them, Daniel?"

"Oh, Miss Vala," the bald trader chuckled, "your partner is so refreshingly honest!"

"Daniel..."

Before the tall man could open his mouth to reply, Shao cut in. "In truth, Miss Vala, we cannot afford the price you are asking, which is twice what these crystals are worth."

Vala shrugged. "We'll just go elsewhere, th--"

"--But as you are perfectly aware of our need, as Master Daniel has admitted, you are clearly in a much stronger position to negotiate, yes?"

The thief smirked. "Of course."

Shao leaned on the table. "We would like to offer you a job, instead." When Vala began to shake her head, he held out a hand to forestall her. "Please, hear me out before you decline."

"I'm listening," she replied.

"We have a third partner, one who is presently absent, attempting to acquire for us the parts for which you are so cleverly charging extra. Her name is Han Mai." Vala straightened visibly. "I see you are familiar with her father, yes?"

"Han Kazo?" The name meant nothing to Daniel, but that was hardly surprising.

"Correct. You are not entirely unknown to us, Vala Mal Doran."

Daniel felt his eyebrows raise, and a quick glance at Vala showed she was just as impressed. "You've heard of me?"

"We've heard it said you have, ah... 'nimble' fingers," Shao admitted. "A nimble mind, too, of course."

"Of course," she answered. "So... what does an agent of the great and powerful Han family want with little ol' me?"

"Master Han has been seeking a reliable expert to acquire certain... rare items for a number of years, now. Unfortunately, several of these artifacts have been hidden well, with only cryptic clues as to how to acquire them. That is where your partner comes in, of course. Are you able to read any of the languages you speak?"

"Yes," Vala replied quickly, before Daniel could admit he wasn't sure.

"Excellent. We will, of course, require a test of that ability."

"Of course," Daniel sighed, and hoped Vala's quick reply hadn't doomed whatever task they were being given.

"Unfortunately, our need for the crystals is great. Would you accept the word of the Han that you _will _be properly compensated for them?"

Vala raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That assumes I can trust your word that you are Han agents."

Shao sighed and reached into the neck of his shirt to draw an amulet over his head. "I understand you won't need a naquadah detector to verify its authenticity," he mentioned casually as he held it out for her examination.

Her face lips thinned. "So you _have_ heard of me." She wrapped her hand around the pendant briefly, then nodded and released it.

Reaching across the table, he handed the amulet to Daniel. "I'll be wanting this back," he cautioned.

"Of course," Daniel agreed, glancing at Vala before accepting the jewelry. Since he was apparently the only person either party would trust, whatever the necklace represented obviously fell to him to guard. He peered at the face, tracing the raised lines representing honor, wisdom, and courage.

"Would Sarilis Camir be the best means to contact you?" asked Lu.

"Well-informed you are. And yes, she would be," Vala agreed. "So... how long before I--or rather _we_ can expect to hear from you?"

"A day... perhaps two," Shao replied. "We have a ship to repair, first." He grinned at Daniel. "You are intended to wear that around your neck, of course."

Daniel felt his skin flush as he slipped the chain over his head, hesitated, then tucked the amulet under his shirt. "Sorry," he muttered.

"It is no matter," the man dismissed. "I can tell by your clothing and mannerisms that you are from one of the more agrarian worlds. You do not know the significance of the amulet, correct?"

"Not really, no," he admitted, though there were several logical conclusions he could draw from what he'd observed thusfar.

"The Han family is one of the oldest and most respected trade and... 'special interest' conglomerates in the galaxy," Lu began, "which is no empty boast or exaggeration. In order to protect the Han name, agents of the family are given these amulets to verify their identity. It contains a small sample of naquadah at its core, one which has been treated to emit very low levels of energy."

"Radiation?" Daniel recoiled, grabbing for the chain in a sudden flash of irrational fear.

"Harmless radiation," the bald agent soothed. "It allows our operatives to be easily verified by someone with a naquadah scanner or--" he glanced at Vala "--an acquired ability to sense its presence."

"That doesn't mean they can't be faked or stolen," the dark-haired thief remarked.

"True," Shao agreed. "However, reproduction requires a level of manufacturing expertise very few worlds have easily available... and stolen amulets do not _stay_ stolen long. Master Daniel, while you wear that amulet, you are a representative of the Han family, and are held to the three tenets which guide us in our dealings."

"Honor, wisdom, and courage," he guessed, hand straying to the bump beneath his shirt.

"He reads _that_ language, anyway," Lu grinned.

"We shall await your communication," Vala beamed, rising gracefully to her feet and scooping the spoils of her bargainings into her satchel. "Come along, Daniel... we have clothes to buy." Before he could formulate a protest, the surprisingly strong woman hauled him upright and dragged him outside the tent. Once they were a few paces down an alley, she spun to face him, grabbed him just behind the ears, and pulled him down for a brief but enthusiastic kiss.

"What?" he managed after she released him, feeling his face flush.

"That's for being your simple, sweet, irresistibly naïve self," she replied, tapping the end of his nose with her forefinger. "Now... let's go shopping! We can't have an agent of the great and powerful Han family looking like a peasant, now can we?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//cringes at the inevitable shippy squees// But don't for one minute think everything's going to be sunshine and roses from here on out! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Colonel O'Neill, come in."

Jack waved at the UAV circling overhead as he squeezed the radio's push-to-talk switch. "Reading you loud and clear, sir."

"Major Carter tells me you have good news," General Hammond continued.

"Oh, she's letting me be the one to surprise you, eh? Well, Jonas has been working hard and heavy but understands only about one word in three, so we could definitely use that Greek-speaker. Oh, and you can toss my retirement papers in the shredder. Again."

Hammond chuckled. "I take it you found something to renew your sense of adventure."

Jack grinned. "Not some_thing_, sir. Some_one_." He paused for a moment before finishing, "Daniel."

"Doctor Jackson? My god, Jack, he's there?"

"He _was_. Actually, if we'd been five minutes earlier, we'd have met his corporeal self at the 'Gate."

"Corporeal? Well, is the boy all right?"

He glanced at his Kelownan teammate, who seemed to be trying to explain what the UAV was to the locals. "From what Jonas has been able to determine, Daniel's suffering from amnesia. That could be a side-effect of expulsion from Oma's School for Ascended Archaeologists. The village leader, Atrus, says he appeared in a flash of light about four months ago. Didn't know his name or anything. He only remembered his name was Daniel _yesterday_, after talking with some chick who crashed her cargo ship here. The two of them headed out this morning, but nobody got the address."

"And you're sure it was Doctor Jackson?"

"Ninety-nine-point-nine-with-one-of-Carter's-repeating-decimals-percent sure. They put him at Jonas' height, build, and coloring, but blue eyes and trouble seeing distance or at night."

"It's a big galaxy, son," Hammond cautioned.

"Yeah, well besides remembering his first name, his parting gift to the villagers was a wood-carving he told them he wasn't sure but _thought _meant 'home' or 'family'. I can't tell you how utterly tickled I am that the engraving was _clearly_ a unit patch for SG-1."

"That's incredible, son!" He couldn't see the general gaping, but could definitely hear it in his voice. "But no idea where he or the cargo ship's pilot went?"

"No, sir, but I'd like to leave a GDO with these folks. Apparently, Daniel promised them he'd come back to visit someday, though they don't know how long he'll be gone."

"I'll send one through with Major Carter," Hammond assured him. "Anything else?"

"Not much yet. Carter hasn't dug in the dirt any and there's the wreckage of that cargo ship to inspect, though I doubt we'll get anything out of that since it was blown up to keep Jaffa from asking too many questions. Jonas and I are going to keep on making nice with the natives until Carter and Teal'c get back."

"Keep me posted," the general ordered, then signed off the connection.

Casting another glance at the reconnaissance drone continuing on its pre-programmed flight, Jack rested his hands atop the butt of his P90 and walked over to Jonas and Atrus. "How's it going?" he asked casually.

The younger man looked up. "Oh, well enough, I guess. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this language." He broke into yet another grin. "Atrus was just telling me how Doctor Jackson jumped into a river to save a boy from drowning."

"He's good at that sort of thing," Jack commented.

"Yeah," Jonas replied, flinching almost imperceptibly. He was probably thinking of a similar situation, when Daniel had leapt to the rescue of his whole planet... and died painfully as a result.

Inwardly, the colonel winced, but he wasn't about to let anything spoil his good mood. Laying a hand on the Kelownan's shoulder, he squeezed gently. "You're doing a great job, Jonas. I know I haven't said it often--well, maybe not _ever_--but that doesn't mean it's not true."

Jonas beamed. "Thank you, Colonel. That... uh, that means a lot to me. Really."

"Zhek-sen?" Atrus questioned.

"Uh, Doctor Daniel Jackson," Jonas clarified, stumbling over another string of vaguely-Grecian words. He tapped his own chest, "Jonas Quinn," then pointed at the team leader, "Colonel Jack O'Neill."

"Zhek?" the village leader asked.

"That's me," Jack replied.

Atrus and Jonas exchanged a few more words, a smile spreading across the older man's face. "He says, uh, that you and Da--Doctor Jackson must have been very close friends."

"When I wasn't being an ass," Jack agreed. "Don't translate that one, Jonas."

The village leader seemed to understand without interpretation, or perhaps saw something in Jack's expression he recognized. Solemnly, he clasped the colonel's left arm, looking up at him and offering a short statement which ended with a knowing smile. Then a villager called to him, so he excused himself and walked away.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, I didn't quite catch what he said."

Jack shrugged, having got the gist of it without understanding a word of the language. "I did. Basically, he just said that any true friendship with Daniel would have to be a very complicated one." He grinned. "But worth it."

"Oh."

Shaking his head, Jack gave the village another look-around, noting for the first time that no one was taller than five-eight or nine. Daniel must have stuck out like a dark blond sore thumb, he realized. In typical fashion, though, he probably fit right in anyway.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his teammate practically twitching. "Spit it out, Jonas," he offered casually.

"I'd always been told--thought you and Doctor Jackson were close," the younger man admitted.

Jack shrugged. "It's like Atrus said, friendship with Daniel is complicated. I mean, the guy's nice with pretty much everyone and every_thing_ he's ever met that wasn't a snake, but there's a difference between acquaintances and friends." He blew out a loud breath. "Still, there were times when I was a grade-A asshole to him... but of course, he could be self-righteous bastard, too."

"Sounds complicated," Jonas agreed. He shuffled his feet a little. "Colonel, when he comes back--"

"I like that," Jack grinned. "You said 'when' not 'if' 'cause it's definitely a 'when' thing. A when-win situation."

Jonas smiled again, but his eyes weren't in on it. "When Doctor Jackson comes back, will I be transferred to another team or... uh..."

The colonel froze. "Look, Jonas... just because we know Daniel's alive doesn't mean he's going to step back onto SG-1 like he never left. For one thing, we don't even know where he is right now. For another, Atrus said he doesn't remember much of anything other than two languages and a few vague images. I'm not so small-minded as to think all those ancient scribbles and cultures crammed into his skull were the be-all-and-end-all of his contributions to the team, but they were still very important. Until he can show me he's the same stubborn genius he's always been, he won't be allowed out in the field... not on my team, not on anyone else's."

The younger man swallowed heavily. "Oh. I just thought..."

"What?"

"I just thought you'd want your friend back on your team, that's all."

Jack sighed. "Believe me, I do. But there's one thing I guess I haven't made clear to you yet, and it's long overdue: you've earned it. It shouldn't even have taken me almost a year to spit it out, but you've earned your place on this team. When--and again, I'm stressing that it's 'when' _not _'if'--Daniel comes back and remembers all those obscure things that practically no one else in the known universe does, we'll look at making SG-1 a five-man team. Hell, the combined brain power of you, Carter, and Daniel should be enough IQ to start your own version of MENSA."

The Kelownan gaped. "Really? I mean, you'd let me stay on your team?"

"_Our_ team, Jonas," he corrected. "And if for whatever crazy reason Hammond won't let us have a five-man team, I'll resign and let Carter take command. But as Teal'c would probably say, 'let us traverse that overpass when we arrive at it.'"

If anyone had told Jack a year ago that he would take such delight in seeing Jonas smile--really, _truly_ smile--he'd have probably socked them in the eye and dared them to say it again. If losing Daniel had taught him nothing else, it was that life was too short and unpredictable. Maybe if he'd tried putting a smile on Daniel's face more often, the younger man wouldn't have...

Well, actually Daniel probably _still _would have disarmed the naquadria bomb with his bare hands. But he might also have let Jacob Carter try to heal him, rather than throwing in the towel and floating off to the Great Glowing Beyond with Oma Desala. What's done was done, though, and it took attempting to re-retire yet again to mellow Jack out enough to tell Jonas some of the things he should have said to Daniel, too. He was turning into a sap in his old age.

"Oh, and Jonas? Don't tell anyone I'm being nice to you. I have a reputation to maintain, after all."

That was better.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//wicked grin// Of COURSE I'm going to make you wait another day to find out what's going on with Vala and Daniel.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Vala smirked, resting her left cheek on her upturned palm and watching as Liu Shao exchanged a stunned look with Han Yuna, the gray-haired matron of the Han family. Missus Han was apparently fluent in a number of languages, both spoken and written, so had taken it upon herself to evaluate Daniel's abilities. Her test included examples of dialects and texts common to each of the major System Lords, plus a few lesser-known languages.

At the moment, he'd just completed translation number fourteen and was waiting to receive his fifteenth.

"Enough, Yuna," boomed the barrel-chested leader, Han Kazo. "He's proven his worth."

Shao's grin was broad enough to match the one Vala felt like wearing. Of all the amnesiac peasants to stumble across on all the backwater worlds of the galaxy, her fickle luck placed Daniel in her path. While it was clear the Hans might have considered Vala's skills valuable for their needs on a rare occasion, they surely would never have considered hiring her on a retainer without Daniel's extensive linguistic capabilities.

"So... what can Daniel and I do for you?" she smiled, sliding down the bench to link her elbow with the bewildered man's. It was always cute to see him flush with embarrassment like he had the first night they'd spent together. Of course, they hadn't actually spent it _together_ together, as he rather steadfastly refused to share the bed in the apartment with her. Despite his bunking on the floor, she found plenty of other opportunities to tease him mercilessly. In fact, since she'd insisted all good thieves-slash-smugglers-slash-treasure hunters wore ass-hugging leather pants, the blush had become a near-permanent fixture.

One thing was for sure, she hated to see him leave but _loved _to watch him go.

Unfortunately, he'd purchased a battered long coat yesterday, spoiling the view from the back side a bit, but the front was still nice enough. With a little training, Vala was certain she could turn those shy blue eyes and soft full lips into the tools of a devastating lady-killer. He was already well on his way as it was, with the way Yuna'd started mothering him almost from the moment they met.

"--Was lost forty years ago when the fortress was captured first by Sokar, and more recently Lord Yu," Kazo was saying, and Vala quickly re-directed her attention. "Yu hasn't been the most attentive of Goa'uld for many years now, but there are reports that he is becoming ill and confused. He has foolishly pulled both _ha'tak_s out of the system to battle Ba'al's _and_ Anubis' forces. That is, of course, most _fortunate_ for us."

"What about ground forces?" she asked, leaping into the discussion.

"No more than forty Jaffa. Not all will be stationed at the fortress, though, as there are sure to be patrols at the Chappa'ai and in the towns and mines nearby." He stroked his closely-trimmed beard. "I realize this is a rather risky first-venture--short on cryptic clues but high on danger--but if the two of you can manage this retrieval... well, let's just say it will be a very beneficial relationship for us both."

"If there are guards at the Stargate, how are we to get to the planet?" Daniel asked.

"Ah! The two of you will travel with one of our merchant caravans. That should give you a large enough group to slip out of for the retrieval, and back into for the return. Unfortunately, it's the best we can offer at this time, as ships are becoming increasingly scarce with the War of the Lords raging on and the sudden growth of the Lucien Alliance."

Vala felt her lips curl in a sneer. She'd yet to meet a Lucien she liked. "How goes the War of the Lords? I've been a bit out of touch lately, as some of these farm worlds don't get much in the way of galactic news."

Liu Shao hooked his thumbs in his waistband and leaned back in his chair. "Anubis was greatly set back when Tok'ra spies destroyed his world-killer weapon. Shortly thereafter, the combined forces of Yu and Ba'al cornered his ship and destroyed it, but Anubis escaped. Yu and Ba'al then descended to battling one another again, and Anubis is rumored to be building an invincible army to wipe out them both."

Poor Daniel looked completely lost. Although she'd given him a brief history lesson on the Goa'uld and the hierarchy of the System Lords, it was a lot to take in and apply to the current political stakes of the galaxy. "I'm sorry... 'Tok'ra'?" he asked.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention them," Vala sighed. "They're genetically very similar to the Goa'uld, but their originating Queen imparted a few less of the nastier traits when she spawned them. Their name literally means 'against Ra', who was the most powerful Goa'uld at the time their order was founded." She grinned. "Actually, Ra was the most powerful System Lord up until just a few short years ago, when he was killed in a slave rebellion."

"I see," he blinked. "So they're not just against Ra but against all Goa'uld?"

"Yes," Kazo confirmed. "Of course, any System Lord will deny the Tok'ra, the Jaffa Rebellion, and the First World even exist. It wouldn't do for 'gods' to be repeatedly humbled by their enemies and former slaves, after all."

"I guess not." Daniel shrugged. "Uh, galactic politics must not be my thing."

Yuna smiled warmly. "Perhaps not, but languages _are_, my boy. You have a real gift for them."

As always, he had trouble accepting compliments as they were intended, his shoulders hunching just a little as he ducked his head and nodded. "So, uh... when do we leave?"

"Four days," Kazo replied. "For convenience's sake, they'll meet you on Katana and you can travel from there. Kien Lu will be the head trader on this particular excursion, so if you need anything, please ask. You have only a five-day window from the moment you set foot on Gishoral until the wagon leaves... with or without you."

"That doesn't leave much time to shop for souvenirs," Vala quipped. "Well, Daniel... we have our naquadah to store and supplies to purchase... I suggest we get to it, then."

"Sure," he answered. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Master and Missus Han."

"Likewise, Master Daniel," Kazo replied as Yuna's plump figure bobbled in a sort-of bow. "Miss Vala."

She kept her arm firmly linked with his until they were through the 'Gate back on Katana. If anyone thought she was behaving possessively, well... she _was_ actually, and had every good reason to, in fact. The attractive, intelligent, and charmingly innocent man beside her had just become her meal ticket. He had a peculiar effect on people, able to make them trust him almost as quickly as he translated languages. It was very, _very_ tempting to teach him how to scam like a true professional, but there was the concern that her lessons might inadvertently damage or destroy his seemingly irresistible naïveté.

"Okay, let me see if I have this right," he began, arm disengaging from hers to join the other one in crossing his chest. It almost looked like he was giving himself a hug. "We're supposed to just walk on in to this Goa'uld fortress and walk back out with the _Benuui_ in hand?"

"I imagine it won't be _quite_ that easy," she cautioned, having not the first clue what the _Benuui_ was. She probably should have been paying attention to Kazo, shouldn't she? "In fact, I think I should probably spend the next four days teaching you to sneak around and shoot stuff."

His jaw clenched stubbornly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have a problem with stealing culturally-significant artifacts for someone's private collection."

As if being attractive, intelligent, and guileless wasn't bad enough, _now_ he was being noble and sentimental! "You're voicing a moral objection? Well forgive me if I don't hold myself to your lofty standards, Daniel."

He stopped in the middle of the road, arms tightening and shoulders hunching further. On anyone else, it'd be gesture of submission, but in the last three days, she'd come to realize it meant he was digging in for a fight. Wonderful.

She tugged his arm to pull him off the side of the road and out of the way of the wagon now making its way up the hill toward the 'Gate. "Look, Daniel, there are really only three ways to earn a living," she explained quietly, ticking them off on her fingers. "There's working yourself to death, working _others_ to death, and taking advantage of everyone indiscriminately."

"Even the ones working themselves to death?" he replied defiantly, slipping the bag containing their naquadah off his shoulder and letting it drop to the ground.

"To a lesser extent, yes. I'd really rather go after the second group, though, especially since I used to be one." She took a deep breath, knowing she might as well tell him about her history before one of the Hans let something slip. "I was once a Goa'uld host, Daniel."

His eyebrows rose. "You mean you..." he began hesitantly, fingers fluttering nervously toward the back of his neck.

"Exactly. Everyone takes advantage of someone, to some extent or another. Even the people who work themselves to death do: the women take advantage of the men hunting and farming, the men take advantage of the women cooking and raising children. The Hans are certainly going to be taking advantage of your language skills--" and so was Vala, but she wasn't about to admit _that _"--and my expertise and knowledge of the Goa'uld. _We_ have to be smart and savvy enough to take as much as we can get out of them."

His jaw twitched. "I think we've wandered off the original topic. The _Benuui_ is an artifact of historical and cultural significance to the people of Gishoral."

"They're _peasants_, Daniel, I doubt they care if a culturally-significant whatever goes missing."

"'Culturally-significant whatever?' Were you even paying _attention_ back there?"

No, she'd been too busy admiring his... assets... to listen. "I was busy working out the logistics," she fibbed. "Training you, supplies, infiltration... that sort of thing."

"Oh. Right," he replied sarcastically. "Well, just so you can 'plan' better, let me tell you a little about what we're _stealing_. It's a religious icon for the people of Gishoral... a statue of their funerary god."

"Than it's probably a statue depicting a Goa'uld who only called himself a god and espoused a religion of gratuitous worship and adoration." She smirked. "Personal experience on that one, darling. Trust me: they're far better off without another icon to their false god."

"But--"

"No 'buts', Daniel... unless it's yours and I have an un-obstructed view of it."

He flushed with embarrassment, and Vala congratulated herself on a job well-done. If only distracting him would _always_ be so easy... eventually he'd get used to her harassment and it wouldn't faze him further.

Ah, well... might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

"Now, come along, darling. I'd rather not get into a shooting match with Yu's Jaffa, but if it comes down to it, I'd like to know you're capable of holding your own."

"Even if I _can _aim a weapon and fire it," he began, shouldering their earnings, "that doesn't mean I can actually use it to kill someone."

"And the very fact you realize that tells me you'll do just fine," she replied. She extended her left elbow, and after a moment's hesitation, he crooked his right arm around it. The rest of the walk into town was made in silence.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Okay, so I STILL haven't come up with a title for this story yet. Oh lovely and loquacious readers, care to lend a helping hand? Except for you, Kay... you've already expressed the opinion that your titles suck ;) 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

She wasn't expecting Gishoral to be so _cold_. Intellectually, she knew it had to be chilly simply from the sheer volume of the clothing she and Daniel had purchased to help them "blend in" with Kien Lu's traders, but the actual feel of the frigid air on her face was a shock. She glanced around to see how Daniel was handling the chill, but could see only his back as he helped the other men get the traders' wagon in motion.

The wormhole closed with a snap, and she gave her surroundings a quick once-over. As she expected from the freezing temperatures, the valley in which the Stargate stood was covered with snow, trampled into paths here and there but mostly pristine and blindingly white. It _would_ have been pretty had she been inside of a warm building, gazing out a window while she drank something hot and sweet and had a handsome man or two giving her a relaxing massage.

Alas, no warm building, no mulled wine, and the only handsome man in sight was too busy helping their new friends from the Han family to give her the loving attention she deserved. Resisting the urge to sigh heavily, she plodded along the frozen track. The pair of Jaffa guarding the 'Gate were already glaring at the wagon and merchants with suspicion, so she tried to look as tired and bored as everyone else in the party. As ridiculous as the ploy was, at least she and Daniel were on the planet without being questioned.

Although the city in which they were setting up shop was less than a mile away, the trip took over half an hour. Draft beasts were difficult to train to travel through the 'Gate, leaving the men of the caravan to haul the wagon of wares themselves... uphill and through the snow, no less. It was too bad they were all posing as low-tech merchants, because a motorized transport would have been very useful, _especially_ in the bitter cold.

When they finally got the wagon inside the town's walls, they were shown to the wayside house, where the members of the caravan were to be staying. To Vala's delight and Daniel's chagrin, Lu told the landlord they were a married couple who should have their own small bedchamber within the compound. Sidling up to Daniel, she slipped her arm through his and whispered conspiratorially, "No sleeping on the floor this time, darling. We have an image to maintain."

His eyes glared, but his face smiled as he patted her hand. "Of course, dear," he replied through teeth clenched only just slightly.

"Give your wife a kiss, then," she smiled back toothily.

"Would you look at that? Honeymoon's over already." Disengaging from her grasp, he grabbed their luggage and followed the landlord up the stairs.

"Spoilsport," she muttered, quickening her step to keep up with Daniel's long strides. Once inside "their" room, she dashed over to the bed and jumped on it, checking the bounce of the mattress as she turned around to face him again. "Seems sturdy enough... as long as we don't get _too_ enthusiastic."

The innkeeper coughed and quickly backed his rapidly-reddening self out of the room. Dropping their bags on the floor next to the washstand, Daniel toed the door shut and latched it. "You enjoy doing that to people, don't you?"

"It got him out of the room, didn't it?"

He sighed. "Yeah. So... do we want to start out tonight or wait until tomorrow?"

"Definitely tomorrow. First, I want to talk a little with the locals, find out some juicy gossip--"

"Vala..."

"--Like secret entrances or old trails or whatever," she finished. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have to walk past the fortress to get to the temple. I want to spend as little time as possible outside... it's _freezing!_"

"You're telling me. I was born in the _desert_."

"You were?"

He blinked. "I guess I was. It wouldn't have just slipped right out like that if it wasn't true, would it?"

"Probably not," Vala agreed, twisting around so that she lay on her stomach across the narrow bed, feet swinging in the air over her back as she propped her chin up on her fists. "How much more have you remembered?"

"Besides how to fire a zat and move quietly?" he asked, arms crossing his body self-consciously.

"Besides that."

"Not much. I shouldn't be surprised, really... I mean it took me four moons--_months_ to remember my own name. And that's not even my full name."

"It's not?"

"No... I'm pretty sure I have a last name, too." He leaned against the wall and slid down the floor, knees tented in front of him. "Heck, 'Daniel' might not even be my _first_ name, either. I think there's something that goes before it."

"What if it's a title?" she suggested. "Like 'Sir' or 'Master'?"

"Nothing like that."

"Lord? Duke? King? Oh, wait, I already asked that one once, didn't I?"

He chuckled. "No, no, no, and yes, you did. But I'm too garden-variety for any of those titles."

"'Garden-variety' peasants don't speak--let alone read and write--fifteen different languages. Oh, sorry... _eighteen_, when you add in the common tongue, Tethysian, and Zhiangma, none of which Yuna tested."

"Uh... I think it's more than that, but good point."

"More?" she blinked.

"Um, yeah... I have this bizarre memory of telling someone, '_lo tak meta satak _Oz'."

"That's Goa'uld."

"Really?"

"Yes. Who's the great Oz and why'd you say you were him?"

He shrugged. "I guess it was the right thing to say at the time... or maybe the wrong thing. Who knows? I sure don't."

"You're a strange man, Daniel."

"Thanks, Miss Mal Doran. You're pretty strange yourself."

She laughed. "You make it sound like such a compliment."

"It is!" he grinned. "No, seriously! Think about it: being strange implies that you're somewhat different than what societal mores say you should be. That takes imagination, intelligence, and a bit of a stubborn streak to accomplish."

"Well, when you put it _that_ way, I'm flattered." She beamed at him. "Thank you, Daniel." As though suddenly realizing he was being nice to her, Daniel ducked his head, fingers toying with the fringed edge of his scarf. Vala recognized it as the one the villagers from Makosis gave him. "Do you miss them?"

"A little. I lived there for the only four months I can remember. As much as I liked the people, though, I always knew they weren't home." He smiled wistfully, leaning his head back against the wall behind him. "I think Atrus was right: I live in the journey, not the destination."

"Then you and I are kindred spirits! I've never really had a place to call home, either. The apartment at Sarilis' is really just a dwelling... a place to store my riches and plunder, yes, but not a home."

"I think I--maybe--might have... had one. A real home... and family. But I lost it?" He shrugged, then gestured at his right temple. "Everything up here is just so... jumbled. Images... feelings... voices... nothing makes sense. There are just too many holes and not enough solid memories holding the threads together."

Vala sat up on the bed. "You know what you need?"

He swallowed. "Uh, no. What do I need?"

For a moment, she debated teasing him again, but it just didn't go with the mood. "Supper. I don't know about you, but I'm _starving_."

"Supper... sounds good." He pushed off the floor and opened the bedroom door. Pausing, he extended his right arm for her to take. "Shall we, my dear?"

"Of course, darling," she smiled in return.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Woohoo! There were some really, REALLY great title suggestions, but nothing that really 'fit' the sheer scale of this story I am only now realizing is becoming a monstrous EPIC. One of my favorites came from BkWurm, "Only the Good Die Young... and Ascend and Descend and Land Naked with No Memory and Then Later Die Again, Ascend, and Descend in the Buff Again". LOL!! 

My best friend-slash-sounding board and I brainstormed over a 90-minute lunch, outlining the key concepts of the story as a whole and wringing every shred of creativity we could collectively muster. Diddly. Squat. After we ate, we continued to chat while waiting for to-go cups of our favorite Southern-style sweet tea. (My brother Daniel and I love to take swigs of this restaurant's tea and pretend to "chew" through the sugar!) We got to talking about one particular plot element when it dawned on me: "Honor Amongst Thieves"!

So a great, big hug to anyone who submitted ideas... even those of you who weren't able to contribute anything but a mental-imagery reminder of leather-clad drool fodder to get me through my work day!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Of all the stupid things he'd ever done, this had to be the _dumbest_. Well, the dumbest he could remember, anyway.

Daniel sighed and tucked his hands under his arms again, wondering what in the _world_ possessed him to go wandering around town on his own. Gishoral's largest trade center--simply called the City--was only about half the size of Katana in area, but was a warren of dark, closely-situated buildings on twisted streets. He thought he'd been keeping track of where he was going, but he'd apparently missed a turn somewhere along the way.

"You look lost."

He looked up to find a tiny little wizened woman sweeping the stone steps in front of one of the many tall, skinny dwellings. "Hi. Um, I arrived with the merchant caravan that came in yesterday."

"Then you don't just _look_ lost, you _are_ lost."

"Yeah," he admitted. "These streets and buildings all look the same."

"They do to me too, boy," she grinned, leaning on her broom handle, "and I've lived here for forty thaws!"

His eyebrows knitted. "You're forty?"

She cackled. "Oh, that's rich! No, boy, I spent my first thirty-seven thaws up near the mines."

"Mines?"

"Gold and the gods' ore. 'Course they let us sell some of each off for food and supplies when you traders come through the Ring, otherwise we'd probably all starve to death." She cocked her head to the side. "Didn't they tell you any of this?"

"Some of it, yes, but this is my first time here with the caravan," Daniel answered truthfully. "I'm a translator."

"And I'm an old widow who misses having someone who'll actually listen when I talk. Come on inside and warm yourself."

"I really should get back to the inn. My, uh... my wife will be probably be looking for me." Vala would probably laugh her head off if she heard him refer to her as his wife... after she finished scolding him for wandering off, of course. He wasn't sure he wanted to share his nightmare with her just yet, which was why he'd felt the need for some time alone.

"If she's smart, she won't go out into the City to look for you, and if she's not, she'll get lost, too," the woman answered. "You might as well come in and warm up so I can tell you the secret to navigating the City."

Daniel sighed. On the one hand, he didn't want to waste any more time than he already had, but he _was_ cold and certainly needed help if he was going to find his way back to the inn before he froze to death. Numbly nodding his head, he stepped onto the shallow porch and followed the old woman into the surprisingly warm house.

"Put your gloves, cap, and scarf next to the fire to heat them faster and have a seat." Shutting the heavy wooden door, she leaned her broom in the corner and puttered over to the small kitchen area. "Have you broken your fast? I still have wheat cakes and tea."

"I ate already, thanks," he answered, settling carefully onto the bench by the fire. His satchel and its precious contents of carvings and tools went on the floor beside him. "Your house is very cozy."

She either didn't hear his reply or decided he needed to eat again anyway, returning to the sitting area with a tray of biscuits and a copper teapot. "Thank you, boy. I learned to prepare a good fire in my youth, working in the Temple of Benu."

Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Benu? As in the local, uh... god of funerals?"

"Supposedly our god of rebirth. But the thaw comes later and later every year, and Benu's temple is still a pile of rubble."

His heart sank. The _Benuui_, a statue depicting the funeral, or rather _rebirth _deity, was last known to have been inside the temple's main chapel. If it had been reduced to ruins, then his and Vala's chances of finding the artifact in the next three days were very slim. "Yes, I was told the temple was all-but destroyed when, uh, when Sokar invaded."

"Sokar?" the woman questioned, pouring two cups of tea. "Ah, Seker. Oh, that old devil would have liked to think he was half the god Benu was. His Jaffa just marched through the Ring one day, declaring their master had slain Benu in battle. With the Fire Lord dead, Seker was free to lay claim to his territories." She scoffed. "Seker styled himself as a fiery underworld god, like some twisted form of Benu."

Daniel had a sudden, inexplicable flash of memory involving a world full of flames and a man with only half a face. It was gone just as suddenly as it appeared, leaving him more confused than ever. It was a scene frighteningly similar to his nightmare.

It started with a memory, of walking in the market on Katana with Vala when she pulled him into the alley and kissed him. When she leaned back, the dark hair wasn't gathered at her nape, it was loose and curly, framing a face that was no longer Vala's yet still achingly familiar. "My Dan-yel," she whispered, raising a hand to stroke his cheek, tracing the bridge of his nose up to his brow. Then her hand and eyes were ablaze with a fierce light, hurting him, making him beg for her to stop, to forgive him... The light increased blindingly, then faded into the world of fire, the half-faced man sneering at him and taunting--

"My dear boy, are you all right?"

He nearly leapt out of his skin, just barely managing to catch the tin cup holding his tea before it slipped out of his hands. "S-sorry," he stuttered. "I, uh, I had a nightmare about fire last night, which is why I went out walking this morning." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "You were saying?"

She gave him an odd look, folding her hands in her lap and leaning back into her over-sized wooden chair. "I was telling you how the temple was destroyed. Seker's Jaffa burned it to the ground when they took over the old fortress. That's when my husband and I moved from the mines to the City."

"Did anything survive the fire?" he asked. "I mean, I'm sure there were writings and art still in the temple when it was destroyed."

"What Seker's Jaffa didn't destroy, Yu's did."

"Oh."

The old woman's eyes twinkled. "You're a very respectful young man, if a bit strange."

Remembering his conversation with Vala the night before, he couldn't keep himself from smiling. "Thank you, uh, ma'am."

"Just call me Gran. Everyone else does."

"I'm Daniel."

"That's a nice name for a nice boy. Tell me, had you ever heard of Benu before you came here?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure. Maybe?"

She leaned forward. "Benu's avatar was a bird. The Benu bird, it is said, dies in flame, but is reborn from the ashes. A painful way to die, yes, but the bird returns to life brighter, wiser, and more wondrous than ever."

Daniel shivered a little, though he wasn't sure why. "Do you think Benu's temple will be reborn from its ashes, Gran?"

"No," she replied, "but if you're finished with your tea, there's something I'd like to show you."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
The _bennu_ bird, of course, is the Egyptian version of the phoenix. I don't remember whose story it was a few months ago that compared Daniel to a phoenix, but it was simply brilliant... 'cause that's what he is//looks thoughtful// Hmmm, I bet I could throw in a few more phoenix comparisons for him later in this story... 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Daniel's antics were grating on her nerves, leaving Vala more than just a little furious. Shortly after breakfast, her partner-in-crime decided to take a walk to "clear his head" and forgot to tell her he was going. In fact, the only reason she knew his motives for wandering out into the city was because he briefly mentioned them to the landlord on his way out the inn's front door.

The blasted fool had slept on the floor beside the bedroom door, despite her promises she'd keep her hands to herself. Early this morning, he'd had a rather spectacular nightmare which woke her out of a pleasant dream involving tropical beaches and piles of gold. He either couldn't or _wouldn't_ tell her what had caused him to thrash about like a man in the throes of excruciating torture, muttering in a mixture of languages. Instead, he'd grabbed his woodcarving kit and a scrap of lumber and gone down to the commons room to keep himself busy until the caravan's merchants began to rise for the morning.

Then, of course, there was that aforementioned stroll he decided to take without informing her of his intentions. She was going to have to have a serious chat with him about sticking close on strange planets, especially now. The fortuitous combination of his scattered memories, fragile ego, and brilliant mind were proving to be eminently exploitable, and Vala could ill-afford to lose him.

"I have to go find him," she declared, pushing up from the wooden table and heading toward the door.

Kien Lu caught her arm. "There's a reason visitors don't go wandering in the city, Miss... uh, Missus Vala: all the streets and houses look alike. The roads are so twisted, one could lose his way and be only steps away from his intended destination."

"All the more reason for me to find him," she retorted, trying to tug her arm free. "Let _go_ of me, Lu."

"Please think this through rationally, Missus Vala. If you go out looking for Master Daniel, would you not _also_ be lost? Then we would need to send _two_ search parties, not just the one."

Angrily, she yanked her elbow out of his grasp. Taking a single faltering step toward the door, she wheeled back around and planted her hands on the tabletop. "Fine. What do we need to do? It's been almost two hours since he walked out, so he's likely half-frozen by now."

"He's a grown man," protested the innkeeper. "Would he not have sought out assistance with one of the residents?"

"Have you _ever_ known a man to stop and ask for directions?!"

Lu waved his hand in a placating gesture. "He's very intelligent young man, Missus Vala. He would, at least, have found shelter."

Vala glared. "He might be a grown man--and a brilliant one, at that--but Daniel is very much like a child when it comes to people. He trusts _far _too easily."

"None who live here will mean him harm," the innkeeper promised.

"Can you say the same for the Jaffa who patrol the streets?" At the returning silence, she had her answer. "I didn't think so. So I'll ask again, what do we need to do? What do _I_ need to do?"

The innkeeper exhaled heavily. "We need to determine how far away he might have gone, first. Does he often go wandering about?"

"He had a nightmare this morning," she began. "He's always been quiet and a little disoriented after one of those. What does it matter? If he's lost, he could be two streets over or all the way on the other side of _town_ by now!"

The older man spread his hands. "Would he have been disoriented enough to keep wandering even after he realized he was lost or would he have stopped for help or to warm himself?"

Her preferred response, a snappy "I don't know" stopped at her lips. Daniel was supposed to be her "husband" after all, so wouldn't a wife know his habits? She paused to weigh his stubborn streak against his trusting nature and occasional use of common sense, and found the stubborn side wanting. "He'd have stopped," she answered at last. "He'd probably have met someone with strong parenting instincts and been taken in like a lost lamb."

"Gran," the innkeeper suggested after a moment.

"Gran?"

"That's what everyone calls her. She's nearly eighty thaws and the motherly sort who talks the ears off anyone sitting still long enough to listen."

"Daniel loves a good story," Vala sighed. "Where is this 'Gran'?"

"Fortunately, on this side of the main row from the entry gate," answered the landlord. "Four reds and six blues, if I remember correctly."

"Reds? Blues?"

"It's the way we indicate--" he began, but was interrupted by the sudden opening of the front door.

"Enemy Jaffa at the Ring!" the heavily bundled figure yelled.

In a surprisingly swift move, the innkeeper leapt to his feet and loosened a hanging rope from its hook. When he began hauling on the cord, she realized it was a bell-pull threaded up through the ceiling, probably leading to the roof. Within seconds, a loud clanging overwhelmed all other noises in the room, and Vala felt a brief pang of pity for the members of the caravan unloading the wagon immediately outside the building.

"We _have_ to find Daniel!" she shouted in Lu's direction, hoping the Han agent could hear her over the racket. The front door had opened again, and the caravaneers were quickly stepping into the shelter of the inn.

"It's not safe!" the agent yelled back. "This isn't the first attack this town has been through, Miss Vala, and the people know what to do. If he's with Gran, she'll keep him inside until the crisis is over!"

"And what if he's _not_ with Gran? I'm just supposed to hope no Jaffa mistakes him for the foreigner he is and _shoots_ him?" The ringing began to abate as the innkeeper finished pulling the rope and tied it back to the hook on the wall. "How can I sit still and wait, Lu?"

"I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice," the landlord replied, placing a beefy hand on her shoulder. "The Jaffa at the fortress are likely on their way here by now, as are the patrols. If fighting spills into the City, it will be too dangerous to be on the streets. You _must _stay here."

A steel-bound plank was settled into mounts on either side of the main door and wooden frames fitted into the front windows, sealing the inn off from the outside. Vala could still have let herself out if she wanted, but her instincts told her she'd have a hard time getting back into the wayside house. As much as she wanted to make sure Daniel wasn't in danger, too many years of self-preservation could not be overcome so easily.

The first sounds of staff blasts outside reinforced her decision. Closing her eyes, she took up a silent mantra.

"Please be safe. Please be safe..."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Would anyone object too strongly if I stopped posting on the weekends, but kept adding new chapters every week day? I'm not saying I'm going to right away, but I'd be able to spend my weekends writing instead of attempting to write AND post. Just a thought. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Now repeat that back to me."

Daniel smiled at Gran. "The street corners are marked with colors indicating their direction and placement in relation to the two main roads which intersect at the City's center. White goes to the road leading to the Stargate--what you call the Ring, and blue goes away from the road. Green goes toward the road to the mine and red away. To get back to the inn, I need only follow the white markers to the main road, then green ones until I get back to the inn."

The old woman beamed. "There's a good lad. I hope to meet you again the next time the caravans are in town, Daniel. Perhaps it will have finally thawed by then."

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the discordant ringing of a bell. Another, more distant bell soon took up the signal until the air was filled with racket from all sides. "What's that?"

"Another Jaffa attack," Gran answered. "Back inside the house, boy... it's best you stay inside until this is over."

Quickly, he shut the door and moved away from it. "Does this happen often?"

"Once or twice a thaw, in the old days. This is the second time for an attack in only a few days, though."

He carefully placed his satchel back on the floor and helped Gran shove a wedge under the door to prevent it from being easily opened from the outside, then at her direction, closed and latched the interior shutters on the windows. "Which Goa'uld do you think it is?"

"Does it matter? They all want the same things: ore from the mines, people to worship them, and the occasional servant."

"What about hosts?" he asked, remembering what Vala had told him.

"Not here. We don't breed 'em pretty enough," she grinned, eyeing him up and down. "All-the-more reason for you to stay inside until the fight's finished." Now that the bells were silent, he could hear strange sounds in the distance. There was a noise reminiscent of something wet being squished, followed by the rush of rapidly displaced air. "Staff weapons, and lots of 'em."

He frowned. "More than normal?"

"Many more than normal," Gran confirmed. "This fight won't take long. I doubt reinforcements have arrived from the fortress yet, so there may still be a while yet before it is safe to open the door."

Trusting in her advice, Daniel returned to his seat beside the fire, listening for the sounds of combat. The noises rose and fell several times over the next hour before abruptly falling silent. The quiet stretched on for several long minutes before Gran gave a nod to remove the obstructing block and open the door.

No sooner had Daniel reached for the handle than a booming voice announced, "_Tal'bet kree! Lo tel'mac renek _Ba'al!"

"It's one of those blasted _vo'cume_s," Gran informed him, looking disgusted. "Useless blathering. I never understood the language of the gods."

"He's telling us to surrender and bow before him... him being Ba'al." Daniel grimaced. "This is going to make it difficult for my caravan to leave, isn't it?"

"That it might. What else is he saying?"

"We're to assemble before him to 'hear the words of he who possesses the _vo'cume_'," he translated. "This may be my opportunity to get back to the inn--to my people."

Gran nodded. "Good luck to you, Daniel."

He paused. "You're not going to--"

"I'm too old to be standing out in the cold whilst an over-inflated monkey in a tin suit tells me to bow down in praise of his 'god'. Now, you go find that wife of yours, boy, and get yourselves off this ice block."

Realizing that nothing would sway the stubborn old woman, Daniel gave her a brief hug of thanks, gathered his bag, and plunged back out into the frigid air. The other people living along the street began to trickle out of their own dwellings, and he was soon merged with a crowd heading for the road to the Stargate.

The smell of burnt ozone and flesh greeted him as he paused on the main road, glancing in the 'green' direction in hopes he'd spot one of the members of the Zhiangma caravan. He didn't want to think about the reason he recognized the stench of scorched skin or why it sent shivers down his spine, so he did his best to ignore the scent. Squinting in the hopes he could focus his weak eyes better, he thought he caught a reflection of the dim sunlight off a bald pate, hopefully Kien Lu's.

It was, and Vala was right beside him. Catching sight of Daniel, she made her way toward him, flinging her arms around him in an exuberant hug and hissing into his ear, "Where the _hell_ have you been?"

"I got lost," he began, not wanting to tell her the full story while they were in such a noticeably public location.

"You and I are going to have a little talk about not wandering off," she snapped, pulling away from him. "But not here. Pull the hood of your coat up and try not to draw any attention from Ba'al's Jaffa. I can't take the chance they'll recognize me from my days as a host or get close enough to sense the naquadah in my blood."

Nodding, Daniel did as she asked, and they rejoined the rest of the caravaneers. When Ba'al's Jaffa seemed satisfied enough of the City's residents were gathered at the plaza where the main roads intersected, their leader began to speak. He informed the citizens that the planet had been taken in the name of Ba'al, they were to worship him as their god, keep mining naquadah... basically, nothing changed for the people of Gishoral except the name of their new master.

"Wait here while I secure our release," Lu instructed as the gathering at last was allowed to disperse. Daniel watched in shock as the Han agent cautiously approached the Jaffa speaker, drawing the pendant representing his affiliation out from beneath his shirt. Though he couldn't hear what was being said, the Jaffa's scowl seemed to indicate his displeasure. Then, to Daniel's utter surprise, the Jaffa released the amulet and nodded, turning his back on Lu and stomping away.

"We should go," Lu announced as he brushed past the stunned duo.

"Just like that?" Daniel asked.

"Yes."

Vala looked impressed. "Well, I knew the Hans had influence, but I had _no_ idea..." She pulled away, running just a little to catch up with the agent. "What about... what Daniel and I came here to get?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "About that... listen, I--"

"There's no time for that now," Lu interrupted. "I will explain the situation to Master Han. He will understand."

"But that's not--"

"You heard the man, Daniel," the raven-haired woman sighed. "We're lucky to be leaving with our lives."

He shook his head. "What I'm _trying_ to say is--"

"Oh, we'll talk about it when we get to a warmer planet," she muttered, lowering her head and stalking resolutely back toward the inn.

"But you don't even know what I was going to say," he complained to no one in particular. When he reached the inn, all thoughts of making his intended explanations vanished as he was called upon to help reload the wagon.

The return trip down the hill was even more difficult than the arrival had been, as the caravaneers had to pull against the wagon's weight to belay its ascent. One wrong move could cause it to go hurtling down the slope and crash, so the men had to utilize extreme caution. Daniel was inwardly grateful for the work, as it kept his attention from straying to the bodies of dead Jaffa littering the trampled and blood-stained snow. At last, they were on the valley floor, and Lu entered the coordinates Daniel recognized as the planet the Hans called home. Using planks laid as ramps up the Stargate's steps, the wagon was then hauled through the event horizon.

Han Kazo himself met them at the 'Gate. "What happened?"

"Ba'al's forces attacked and took the planet," Lu answered. "Ground troops only, else we might not have survived. I'm afraid our mission was otherwise a complete failure."

"Not a _complete_ failure," Daniel began.

"Daniel and I didn't even get a chance to set foot outside the City," Vala cut in, stepping up beside the Han agent. "We never even _saw_ the temple, let alone had chance to explore it."

"Guys!" Vala, Lu, and Kazo turned to look at him, along with everyone else from the caravan. "If you would stop interrupting me, I've been _trying_ to say that we didn't _have_ to go to the temple." He took a breath, slipping his satchel of his shoulder and releasing the drawstring.

"The elderly woman I met in the City was a worker in the Temple of Benu back when Sokar invaded. She and her husband saved the _Benuui_ from the ruins of the temple, and she's kept it in the cellar of their home ever since." Smiling triumphantly at the dumbfounded expressions leveled at him, he reached into the bag and drew out the rising-bird shaped statue. "She gave it to me when I asked her for it," he finished.

Silence greeted him, then Kazo erupted in a roar of laughter.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
FFnet may be having upload problems, but I'm SNEAKY! I found a back door. //smug grin// 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Don't think I'm not still mad at you."

In the darkness of the room they shared, Vala heard a quick inhalation. "For what?"

"For wandering off without telling me where you were going, for starters," she began, swinging her feet to the floor and tapping the button to bring up the lights in the room he shared with her--reluctantly, it seemed.

He blinked against the sudden brightness, squinting up at her from his customary make-shift bed on the floor. "I didn't realize I needed your _permission_ to go for a walk. Besides, it all worked out in the end."

"Oh, right. Kazo got his lovely bird statue made of an alloy remarkably resistant to extreme heat and you and I got paid a tidy sum."

His expressive eyebrows furrowed. "You're going to have to explain it to me, then, 'cause I don't see a problem so far. Is it how I presented the statue to Master Han? 'Cause I tried to tell you about it before we left Gishoral, but--"

"You _scared_ me, you idiot!" she shouted, causing him to recoil just a little. Daniel sat up with his back to the wall and looked ready to bolt, so Vala swiftly took matters into her own hands. Crossing the room in two strides, she straddled his knees and planted her hands on his shoulders to prevent--or at least slow--his escape. It took a great deal of willpower to not withdraw when he flinched at her touch.

"Firstly, you had that stupid nightmare you wouldn't talk about," she began, "leaving me a little _concerned_. Then you went and disappeared without telling anyone--oh, except the landlord--and leaving me more than just a little _worried_. When you were still gone two hours later and Ba'al's Jaffa attacked, I was _scared_."

"I'm sorry," he offered quietly. "I--I didn't know."

"I care for you, Daniel," she continued, releasing his shoulders and sitting back on her haunches. "In the last two weeks, you've come to mean a lot to me." She cringed inwardly at her deliberate misdirection, which was noteworthy itself. If it were anyone else but Daniel, she was certain she would have no qualms about manipulating his perceptions to her needs. There was something about him, though, that made it almost distasteful to lead him to believe her investment in him was more emotional than financial.

"But you don't trust me," he guessed, folding his arms across his chest.

"I trust Theadan," Vala answered at length. "He's honest and careful and kind. Unfortunately, I don't yet know _Daniel_ well enough to know if I trust him or not, because he keeps hiding from me."

"He keeps hiding from me, too," the man muttered, gazing downward as though the hem of his shirt held all the answers. Just as Vala began to think he wasn't going to speak further, he cleared his throat. "It starts with you, actually."

"You sure it's not a good dream?"

Daniel gave her a look of amused exasperation. "It _starts_ with you dragging me into that alley on Katana and kissing me. When you pull away, it's not you anymore. Instead, there's a woman with curly black hair who calls me 'my Dan-yel'. At first, she's gentle and sweet, but then she changes. She becomes cold and arrogant. Her hand and eyes glow, then I'm in so much pain, I fall to my knees and--"

"Oh my," Vala breathed, shifting position so that she was beside his legs rather than across them. "She's a Goa'uld."

"That would certainly explain why I always feel anger and sorrow when anyone mentions the Goa'uld." He tipped his head back and smiled wistfully. "She was so very beautiful... and I loved her very much."

"Do you think she's still out there? Waiting for you to rescue her?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know. There are other people who were important to me, people whose faces aren't clear... not yet. An older man with silver hair... a warrior, leader, and brother. At first, I thought I just kept confusing Atrus with someone else from my past, but it's obvious now they aren't the same... even though I feel they have a great deal in common." He grinned. "Not the least of which is annoying me to distraction."

"_I _can do that," Vala scoffed playfully. "Who else?"

"Another man, dark-skinned, physically powerful. I get the sense of great age and wisdom, but still young and a student at the same. A woman, fair-haired and light-skinned. There's a bond between us like... like family?"

"A sister, maybe? Cousin?"

"Possibly. The rest are still vague shadows with no real shape or definition. A wise leader, a compassionate healer, a lonely child, a man with two faces, a venerable warrior... well, you get the idea."

"Sounds like a motley crew," she grinned. "Two leaders and two warriors in the mix, though."

"Oh, a lot more than just_ two_ warriors... but again, they're all shapes and not faces."

Vala pondered what he'd revealed so far. On the one hand, the presence of so many warriors and leaders seemed to imply he'd been a part of some sort of army, with the silver-haired warrior the leader of its masses and the wise leader their sovereign, perhaps. On the other hand, she was entirely unsure how a man of Daniel's gentle nature could be a part of such an organization. Still, it served as a perfect explanation for his familiarity with zats, _tel'tacs_, and the art of stealth, leaving her to wonder again what secrets lay beneath the seemingly guileless exterior.

"Quite the mystery," she mused aloud. "Thank you, Daniel, and please forgive me if I seemed... accusatory in any way. It certainly wasn't my intention."

"It's okay," he assured her. "Talking about it out loud sort of helped me put some of what I remember into perspective. Do you suppose I was a member of some sort of military unit?"

"I thought the exact same thing... and I don't think it's likely."

"You don't?"

Vala pulled her hair back from her face with one hand. "I can't imagine what a man of your learning would have been doing serving in an army. Maybe, instead, the wise leader you mentioned is your father, the king... and the warriors your protectors as the crown prince of wherever."

He laughed aloud, dazzling eyes momentarily losing their dark cloud of contemplation. "I've told you before, Vala, I don't think I'm royalty."

"You said 'king'. 'Prince' was never mentioned in that conversation, so I think I'll hold out for that one for a while."

His expression managed to convey amusement _and_ confusion at the same time. "Okay, so if I'm the prince, who are the other people?"

She settled next to him, back against the wall but leaning into his side. Obligingly, he put his arm around her shoulders and rested his head against her own. "Well, the dark-haired woman must be your beautiful princess. Instead of an ivory tower, it's a Goa'uld who has her imprisoned. The silver-haired man is the leader of your father's armies and the older warrior is his mentor. Let's see... the big man is the leader's man-at-arms. The healer is the court physician, the sister is _your_ sister, and the child is... a younger sibling? The son or daughter of any of your other companions?"

"It's your story, take your pick."

"Oh, no, it's _your_ story, remember? Okay... so the child belongs to... the physician. What about the two-faced man? Did you mean he was duplicitous or literally had two separate faces?"

"Two separate faces, I think, but they are nearly identical."

"Since I doubt he's the court jester, I'll go with king's advisor."

"So where do you fit into this fairytale, Vala?"

"Oh, we can't introduce me to this yarn just yet," she admonished. "Once upon a time, Prince Daniel was out riding through the countryside when an evil Goa'uld wizard called down a bolt of lightning to frighten his horse. Prince Daniel was flung from the saddle and fell down a ravine. Although his fall was broken by tree branches on the way down, they tore his clothes so that he landed on the ground quite naked."

Daniel buried his face in his palm. "I'd hoped you'd forgotten that."

"Not on your life, darling. Anyway, the nearby villagers were startled by lightning on a clear day, so they ran to the base of the cliff to see what had happened. Imagine their surprise when they discovered the handsome prince lying on the ground before them. Of course, they didn't _recognize_ him as the prince because all his fine clothes were gone."

"You're dwelling too much on that part. Can we skip it?"

"Which of your parts should I skip?" she grinned.

"Anything without clothes!" he blushed.

"Oh, fine. So... not knowing who the prince was, they took him back to their village. When he awoke, they found the fall had caused him to lose his memory. Without knowing where he came from, he stayed with the village and helped them... since that's what kind, generous princes do, after all. The village was in too remote a part of the kingdom to receive news that the prince was lost, you see, so when no news of his whereabouts returned to the castle, the king thought him slain by the evil Goa'uld wizard."

He turned his head and smiled at her. "You're quite the storyteller."

Vala laid a finger across his lips. "Shush. I'm not finished yet. One day, a notorious pirate was in the area. Having commandeered a ship with a leaky bottom, she was forced to make for land before her ship sank. The first place she came to on-shore was the village where the prince lived. They discovered they had a few things in common, so when it came time for her to leave, he traveled with her to a nearby magic portal and stepped through it to the pirate's country."

He was leaning heavily against her now, and she suspected he might be drifting off to sleep. Reaching across her body, she took his left hand in her right, lifting his arm over her head and putting it down at his side. "The pirate and the prince are going to go on many adventures together, combining her knowledge with his to make them the best treasure-hunters on the high seas. Then, one of these days, they're going to find their way back to the prince's kingdom, where she'll help him rescue the princess from the evil wizard's tower. The king will reward the pirate richly for helping his son, and they'll all live happily ever after."

Daniel looked far more relaxed than she had ever seen him. "Sounds like a good story, Vala." His voice was slightly slurred, so she helped him to lie down and pull the tangled sheet over his body. "Richly rewarding the pirate? Gold, jewels, and a ship to call her own: what else could a pirate want, hmm?"

He dropped off into slumber, mouth open as his breathing slowed to a very soft snore. She hoped his dreams that night would be of the magical kingdom she'd crafted for him instead of the nightmares he normally suffered. Impulsively, Vala leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Every girl dreams of finding her Prince Charming, Daniel."

As she crawled between the sheets of her own bed and turned out the lights, she mentally cursed herself. Daniel was an excellent business opportunity, not some lost prince whose kingdom she was needed to help save. She was _not_ supposed to be getting emotionally attached to him.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
screams and hides from 'shippy squees But seriously, this chapter and I fought tooth-and-nail until Vala started in on her extended metaphor. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"According to the tablet, it's supposed to be in here."

Vala raised an eyebrow, casting the beam of her handlight around the big but obviously-empty room. "Well, I'm sure you and the tablet are right, Daniel... it's just my eyesight that's wrong, that's all."

He gave a huff of exasperation, wondering how a woman as impatient as she had ever gotten anywhere as a thief and smuggler. "Okay, so somebody got here before us. It's not surprising, really, since Kazo said there had been other treasure hunters to seek this particular treasure. Still, I can't help but feel we're missing something."

"The _treasure_, for one."

Daniel scowled. "It's more than that. There were supposed to be _writings_ in this room. I don't see those, either."

"So it's been a few hundred years and the _paint_'s worn off."

"Carvings, Vala. Chiseled, cut, or otherwise engraved on the surface of the stone. There's no sign of flooding, so they can't have eroded, either. The edges are still to sharp between the paving stones."

She twisted around, shining her light on his face. "You never mentioned writings before."

"I wasn't quite sure what the word meant, remember? I'm pretty sure that it means writing, though."

"Pretty sure?"

"Pretty much." He glanced down at the thin paper rubbings he had made of the tablets Kazo had presented them. "Either that or it means 'markings' or 'drawings'."

"I don't see any of _those_, either," Vala retorted, "unless you count the oh-so-lovely yellow stripe of stones down the center of the hall we walked through to get in here."

"Yellow stones?"

She put her free hand on her hip. "Don't tell me you went wandering in here without paying attention to the floor at your feet! Your Highness, what were you thinking?"

"Stop calling me that. And to be honest, I was too busy trying to make a map of the corridors so we could find our way out of here later."

"What good does a map do you if you step on a trap and fall into pit?"

He sighed. In the week since the "fairytale" was first introduced, Vala had been running hot and cold. One minute, she'd be as friendly and flirtatious as ever, then she'd turn around and snap at him for no apparent reason. Several times, he'd had to resist the urge to make a pithy comment about 'that time of the month', but his self-preservation instincts had fortunately prevailed.

"So... was this the first place you saw yellow stones, or were there others?"

"There were others," she replied. "I'd thought maybe they were a regular decoration, but the pattern was broken in places."

He blinked. "What places?"

"_Lots_ of places. Does it really matter?"

"Well, it _might_." Sighing heavily, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We need to backtrack... find all the yellow lines and compare them. I _knew_ I was missing something, and that could be the key to figuring out what it was."

Vala rolled her eyes, but led the way back out, pointing at the decorative-looking row of stones down the center of the corridor, barely noticeable against the dusty brownish-rose hue of the surrounding blocks. Daniel used a thin piece of charcoal to mark its start on the map he'd been drawing, carefully following the line until it stopped where another of the labyrinthine hallways intersected at a peculiar angle.

"You see any more of these lines?"

She peered into the darkness, then shone her light down the hall to their right. "We _really _need to get your eyesight corrected."

"I take it that's a 'yes'?"

"Yes."

Daniel stifled the urge to sigh in exasperation. Instead, he stepped into the new hallway and began carefully mapping the curve of the walls until the yellow line ended at a four-way junction, this time intersecting at right angles. Vala spotted another line to their left, and they set off in that direction.

They stopped for a rest and water after nearly an hour, then resumed mapping the path of decorative stones. The self-professed thief made no effort to disguise her boredom and belief in the futility of his efforts. Yet another hour later, he was still approximating measurements and sketching when Vala abruptly stopped. "We're back at the entrance."

He blinked, looking up from his map to see the badly-defaced fresco which they had discovered near the stairs leading out of the underground complex. It had likely been damaged by vandals or other treasure hunters, leaving whatever scene it depicted unrecognizable. "That's strange."

"We could have just followed those stones to get to the empty chamber at the end?"

"Well, it would taken a lot longer than following the directions on the tablet," he replied. "It also crosses the initial path we took several times and even itself more than once, and some of those were dead ends.. If my friend Jack were here, though, he'd probably tell us to 'follow the yellow brick road'."

"Your friend who?"

"My friend--" Daniel froze, then grinned "--Jack! That's the name of the silver-haired leader, the one I kept confusing with Atrus. When Atrus thought I was saying 'Zhek', I must have been saying 'Jack', even without knowing who he was!"

"Congratulations," Vala replied dryly. "And his advice to follow the yellow brick road?"

"Not really sure," he admitted. "I'm pretty sure Jack was full of odd comments which really didn't mean anything."

She snatched the map out of his hands and held it up, tipping her head to first one side, then the other as she studied--or at least pretended to study--the lines he'd drawn. As her head moved, allowing the sunlight from the stairwell to pour over her shoulder, Daniel blinked in surprise at what he saw.

"Vala, hold it up to the light for me. No, no... the other way, with the back of the page to me." Although she frowned in confusion, she did as he asked. The light shone through the thin paper, illuminating the crudely-formed map in reverse. From the back side, the hand-drawn lines of yellow stone intersected with the "true" path to form an unmistakable rune.

"Find anything useful?" she asked, amusement coloring her voice as she took in what was undoubtedly a shocked expression on his own face.

"Well, you _did_ say Peklenc was an underworld god," he replied, shaking his head as though that would help restart his brain. "If he were looking up from his kingdom, he'd see the lines from the back side, not the front. That's what didn't make sense about the tablet. 'Seek the writing when you reach the final chamber'. There wasn't writing _in_ the last chamber; you had to seek what was 'written' only after you got _to _the last room!"

The woman stared at the paper, then at him. "So, what does the writing mean?"

"It says 'Ozwiena'. If you remember from the books Kazo gave us--"

"--She was his consort. The locals once associated her with ravines and caverns."

Daniel grinned. "But it _also_ said that in their early beliefs, anytime they heard an echo, Ozwiena was mocking them. Ravines and caverns have echoes. We've been down here for several hours, but have you heard an echo yet?"

Vala cocked her head to one side. "No... and that's strange, since this is a big, empty temple with nothing but lots and lots of walls to reflect sounds back to us. Even the last chamber didn't echo."

"So... why don't we go back there and see if we can find one or something that represents an echo?"

Energized for the first time since their arrival, the pair followed the map again to return to the end chamber. Nothing had changed in the surprisingly spacious room, the darkness still unbroken save where their handlights sliced into it. The walls and floor were made of the same closely-fit pinkish-stone as was prevalent elsewhere in the temple. The ceiling, unlike the arched vaults of the maze-like corridors and chambers elsewhere, seemed to be perfectly smooth, proving the complex--or at least this part of it--had been carved out of the mountain instead of being constructed within an existing cave system. Given that one of Peklenc's titles was "god of stonecutters", the detailed craftsmanship of the temple was less surprising than it might have been on another world.

"You _do_ realize that anyone seeking this treasure before us would probably have tapped the walls in search of secret compartments," the dark-haired woman commented, beginning a tour of the room's perimeter.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Daniel agreed, tucking his papers into his pack before circling in the opposite direction. "Obviously, we're looking for something _else_. Do you remember what the symbols for Peklenc and Ozwiena look like?"

"Oh, I leave that sort of thing for you to remember. If I see anything that looks like it might be an intentional scratch, I'll certainly let you know." They lapsed into silence then, each taking to studying their half of the room. Nearly an hour later, they met near the middle of the wall opposite the door, exchanging grim shakes of the head which told of their lack of success.

"There must be _something_ in here," Daniel muttered disgustedly, sweeping his light back over the room again as though another look would provide an answer.

"Or someone could have already beat us here and gotten whatever treasure this room supposedly held," Vala replied, striding back across the room. "Not that I would have minded finding Pek's secret stash of jewels and precious metals."

_"...Metals._"

She froze in place. "Did you hear that?"

"_...Hear that?_"

Daniel realized his mouth was hanging open and quickly shut it. "An echo!"

"Great! What's that tell us?"

"..._Tell us?_"

"You've probably found the spot we were looking for," he answered, quickly crossing to where she stood, a few strides short of the center of the room. "Any markings around you?"

"_...Around you_?"

"Around _us_," Vala corrected, rolling her eyes at the echo. "Whatever we're looking for must be in this approximate space."

"..._Approximate space._"

"I wonder how big it is... what shape it takes."

"_...Shape it takes_."

"You know, that is _really_ starting to get annoying," she griped.

"..._Annoying_," the echo agreed.

Daniel grinned. "Try whispering, then... that doesn't echo as loudly." He began slowly moving back in the direction from which he'd come, counting aloud and listening for the replying echo. When he no longer heard his own voice being repeated back to him, he bent down and made a mark on the stone in charcoal. Turning around, he stepped past Vala and did the same again, stopping less than a normal stride past where she currently stood.

"You know, if you'd been walking any faster, we might've missed this."

"..._Missed this_."

"So what do we have so far, Your Highness?"

".._Your Highness?_"

He scowled, turning to his right and stepping forward again. "It's about three full strides across here, but I'm not sure of the shape." No echo answered him, so he turned and moved again. This time, his counting was repeated, so he made another mark. As though realizing her time would be better spent helping him instead of providing more fuel for the annoying echo to parrot, Vala asked for his spare piece of charcoal and went to work.

Shortly thereafter, she announced, "It's a circle."

Daniel looked back his own marks and nodded in agreement. Their initial crossing point had been toward the circle's edge, with the full shape being four or five strides across at its diameter. "That could be significant."

Her hands were on her hips, and she cocked her head to one side. "You know, I'm sensing a little naquadah around here. It could be rings."

"Rings?"

"A Goa'uld ring platform is about this size and is also round, of course."

"And what's that do?"

She rolled her eyes as though he should know, but explained, "It's a transportation device that moves people and objects from one platform to another. The matter is transported into energy, then re-formed on the other side."

"Like a Stargate?"

"In a way, yes. Ring platforms are usually activated by a control console or the use of a precisely-calibrated signal, usually from a transmitter worn on the hand or wrist."

"Well, we don't have a transmitter," he mused, wondering what the phrase "garage door opener" meant and why it suddenly began bouncing around in his skull. "The tablets didn't say anything about that, either."

"They probably wouldn't. You said the tablets were instructions for Pek's worshippers so they could leave offerings for him. It stands to reason that the temple would have had priests and Jaffa in attendance who would activate the rings for the supplicants. Goa'uld are big at making their technology look like magic, so the tablets wouldn't have revealed something like that."

"No, I suppose not," Daniel sighed, casting his handlight over the floor in front of him. They'd marked almost half the shape, and he could easily estimate the rest of it. "I don't suppose there's any technology we could use to--" He broke off, panning the beam back over the stone he'd just passed.

"What is it?"

"What's another word for 'echo'?"

"'Mimic'?" she guessed.

"Reflection," he corrected. "That stone is reflecting my light."

Vala walked over and scrutinized the stone in question, running her fingers over it in search of loose edges, unusual bumps, or anything else of the sort. "It seems pretty ordinary to me... other than the reflection."

"..._Reflection_," agreed the echo.

"What if it's an activation point? Shine a light on it, push it in, stand on it, something?"

"You'd better get inside the circle if it works."

"_...If it works_."

He crossed the charcoal marks, then peered around her shoulder as she pushed on the stone. It gave away with some resistance, depressing less than a finger's width before sliding back into place. "Of _course_ it couldn't be that easy," she remarked, looking back at Daniel as though he held all the answers.

"_...That easy_."

"Maybe there's another one that has to be pushed at the same time," Daniel suggested, smiling as the echo put in its own "same time". Casting about, he found another of the otherwise-unremarkable stones which reflected light on the exact opposite side of the circle. "You wouldn't want anybody to just accidentally stumble across the activation switch."

"_...Activation switch_."

"What if there's more than two?"

"_...More than two?_"

"Not likely. Peklenc and Ozwiena wouldn't be able to enter their own treasure room by themselves, then."

_"...Themselves, then_."

"So we're ready to try this?"

"_...To try this?_"

Daniel nodded, pushing his own stone as Vala pressed hers. "To Oz," he declared.

An explosion of sound and light surrounded them.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
And just like that, the "snarkyologist" is back! 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Vala blinked away the spots dancing before her eyes and quickly looked around, grateful to note that the ring platform on this side was considerably more visible than the one in the temple complex had been. A quick glance upward showed her where the rings were stored when not in use.

"Well, that was exciting," she commented. "First time traveling by rings, Daniel?"

"Uh, I don't think so, no," he answered, checking their surroundings. "We're deeper underground, I guess?"

"Most likely, although it's very unusual for a Goa'uld to build beneath a planet's surface. They liken it too much with the way the Tok'ra are known to tunnel. Besides, they much prefer the tasteless grandeur of forcing their slaves to build them opulent palaces almost big enough to house their egos."

Daniel blinked. "I thought the whole carved-into-a-mountain thing was pretty impressive."

Actually, it _had_ been. Even in a sad state of disrepair, the towering columns, massive statues, and detailed craftsmanship had been a testament to the skill of long-dead artisans, doubtlessly toiling away under the mistaken belief their labors would grant them some favor with the Goa'uld who ruled over their world. Then the treasure hunters had found their way _inside_ the temple and were confronted with even more evidence of the workers' dedication to the art of stonecutting in the sprawling network of tunnels.

Vala shook her head. According to the information she and Daniel had been given--plus a little half-remembered history from the remnants of Qetesh--Peklenc and Ozwiena had turned against one another. Peklenc had been a rather minor Goa'uld who wasn't important enough to be able to attract the attention of a true Goa'uld Queen, and Ozwiena had grown tired of her role as the less-dominant of the pair. She betrayed his armies to another lesser Goa'uld, Narciss, who later killed her, too. With both Peklenc and Ozwiena dead, their hidden palace became the subject of much speculation.

She and Daniel had solved the mystery, though, and as she gave the area immediately around them another quick check, she noticed with relief that a more typical control panel for the ring platform was nearby. "What are we waiting for?" she asked.

Daniel licked his lower lip. "It occurs to me that a palace sealed off for five hundred years might not have very good air in it."

"We're breathing just fine now, aren't we?"

"Well, yes. But we could still be breathing the air which came with us through the rings."

"And there might not have been anyone or any_thing_ down here to poison the air for that same five hundred years." She shrugged, stepping out of the ring room and slowly making her way down the hall. "There's no use dwelling on it now that we're down here. If the air _is_ bad, we likely won't notice until it's too late anyway."

He gave her a bewildered look as he caught up to her. "Well, _that_'s positive thinking."

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did..." He trailed off shaking his head. "Yeah, I guess I did. So, should I be making a map or something?"

"Probably won't be necessary," she answered, pausing to investigate a closed door. "Since this is the first chamber immediately after the rings, I'd guess this is a throne room. Goa'uld are notoriously lacking in creativity, so I doubt this place will be much different than any other palace or ship." They rounded a corner and were confronted with gold-colored walls covered in hieroglyphs. "Like that, for example."

"That's like the inside of the cargo ship... _tel'tac_. Do the symbols mean anything?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You can't read them?"

He shrugged. "Not from this distance, no. Actually, I'm not sure, but I wonder if it's worth my time."

Resisting the urge to smirk, Vala gestured toward a section of paneling. He stepped closer so that his weak eyesight would allow the details of the hieroglyphs to come into focus. "'The Great and Beautiful Ozwiena, Mistress of the Underworld, Daughter of Gaia, Slayer of Tyche...'" He shook his head. "It's all propaganda, isn't it?"

"Pretty much," Vala grinned, "but occasionally useful." Stepping up next to yet another sealed door, she ran her light over the glyphs beside it before selecting one at waist-height which resembled a grouping of three mountains. It turned under her hand, causing the door's seam to crack open slightly. Together, she and Daniel were able to force the two panels apart.

The room beyond was astonishingly pristine for something abandoned for hundreds of years, but she supposed it and the hallway's dust-free condition was owed to the facility's location underground. The Goa'uld were known for applying some of the same principles guiding the construction of spaceships to architecture--and vice versa--which could very well mean the underground palace was air-tight. She wondered if the environmental systems and doors had been shut off or if they'd simply run out of power.

"There isn't any dust," Daniel commented, mirroring her thoughts. "Do you suppose there's a life support system down here? I mean, that'd make sense if it's cut off from the surface."

"I was just thinking the same thing," she grinned, once again impressed by her companion's quick intelligence. Clearly, he'd had more than just passing experience with Goa'uld technology in his forgotten life. "I'd say it's worth a look if we come across it. Our first priority is the treasure, though."

"If you call gaudy trinkets like _that_ 'treasure'," he replied, handlight coming to rest on a hideously-ornate piece of sculpture.

Vala approached and hefted it, scowling at its light weight. "It's not even solid gold," she pouted, accidentally brushing her hand across the decorative scarf on the table as she stepped back. The ancient cloth practically crumbled. "Well, _now_ there's dust."

Daniel grinned and continued on into the next room. "Bedroom," he called back to her.

Despite her increasing confusion over her relationship with him, she couldn't resist teasing. "Care to help me test out the mattress?"

"If it's as old as the table scarf, I doubt it would hold up to your enthusiasm," he replied.

She stopped in the doorway. "Impressive. That's the first time you've had a come-back for any of my suggestions."

"I'm a fast learner," he commented cheekily, carefully opening a small wooden chest atop one of the dressers. "Hello."

Stepping into the room, Vala peered around him to see the unmistakable glint of gold and jewels. "Looks like Ozwiena didn't clean house before she dumped her husband."

He took a piece of cloth out his pack and carefully wrapped the jewelry box before tucking it into his bag. They quickly searched through the drawers on every piece of furniture in the room, turning up a few more valuable trinkets amidst the rapidly deteriorating clothing.

"I can't help but feel I should be _preserving_ all this," Daniel remarked, shutting the door of the armoire he'd inspected.

"Oh, we _are_ preserving this darling... for us."

"The Hans, too," he reminded her.

Vala shrugged. "I'm sure they won't mind if we keep a _few_ of these pieces for ourselves."

"Probably not... it'd be cheaper than paying us for our services."

"No, I think I'll still insist on a cut," she corrected. "They couldn't have expected us to find what we were looking for in the first _day_ of actively searching. That's _got_ to be worth something, Daniel."

He shrugged. "You're the finances person in this partnership."

"And you're the brains of the outfit, so try not to strain them too much." Closing the drawer she'd just finished searching, she cast her beam in the direction of the bedside table and caught a glint of red. There, hidden partly by the frame of the massive bed was an ancient Goa'uld activation crystal. "Let's see what _this_ does," she muttered, pressing the dome.

With a groan of disused gears, a section of wall just on the other side of the nightstand slid aside. "Hello," she grinned, mimicking Daniel's earlier comment.

"Oh, nice," he commented, shining his light into the revealed chamber. Perhaps fifteen strides deep and at least that many wide, the hidden compartment was filled with sealed ceramic pots, drinkware and dishes that looked like they were probably silver underneath a few centuries worth of tarnish, magnificent wooden chests that potentially held untold treasures, and lots and lots of gold. There were statues, pots, urns, decorative armor, and pieces of jewelry, all seemingly crafted out of the Goa'uld's favorite precious metal.

"These new packs are _not_ going to be big enough," Vala announced.

"No kidding," Daniel agreed, carefully--and wisely--checking for traps before stepping into the treasury. "You know, I always thought treasure rooms like these were a complete cliché, but I'm beginning to realize the Goa'uld _love_ clichés."

"Ostentation and a complete lack of originality will do that to a race. Let's start with the jewelry, Daniel. We don't want to overload ourselves too much, and we can always come back for the bigger pieces later."

He nodded, moving to the left-hand side of the room and removing his pack. Vala helped him load handfuls of glittery prizes into his spare shirt and tie off the bundle before doing the same for her own bag. They were each considerably heavier when they finally exited the bedroom.

"Life support first, then the rings," Daniel suggested.

Vala nodded. "An excellent idea, darling. You've had a number of those today."

"Should I be worried?"

Her surprised laugh echoed down the hall. "I'm thinking _I_ should be the one worried! My sense of humor seems to be rubbing off on you."

"As long as it's only your sense of humor that's doing the rubbing," he chuckled. "Actually, I think we have Jack to thank for my sudden razor-sharp wits. I get the impression he made me laugh, even when I didn't want to."

"Remind me to thank him later," she answered, stopping in front of another door. After prying it open, she determined it wasn't the room they were looking for and continued. Finally, four doors later, they found what they needed.

The raven-haired woman inspected the controls, pressing a button which made the whole console glow very faintly. "It looks like the power source is nearly depleted."

"Uh, question: are we going to be able to use the rings to get back out?"

"The rings should have their own separate power supply," she answered. "But if we're to come down here again, we'd probably do well to bring a portable generator to run the environmentals and lights." She smiled slyly. "You know, we could make this our own private getaway."

"First thing I'm doing is hiring a decorator."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Got to love the snarkyologist! Because RL (read: my job) has been an absolute BEAR this week, I will not be posting chapters Saturday and Sunday nights. The responses I got were overwhelmingly in favor of me doing whatever the heck it takes to keep this story updating consistently, and since I just finished writing chapter 18 on Monday, that puts me behind for next week's installments. I think most folks read fanfic on weekdays anyhow, so I doubt there's any hardship... right? 

Thanks to EVERYONE who has read this story! I'm astounded every day by the number of hits on my most recent chapter, which means approximately 300 people have made it all the way through to the lastest installment by the time the next one is ready to go! It sure makes a girl proud... //sniff//

Finally, if you are inclined to review, I _do_ I prefer signed reviews or--if you don't have a log-in--reviews which leave email addys. I love giving feedback to the feedback-er.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Fifty-fifty."

"What?"

Vala hefted her pack, adjusting the weight on her back as they stepped out of the ring room in the main temple complex. "You've more than earned an equal split of the profits, Daniel. I think we can also look into getting another place to live that's a little bigger... or maybe a ship. What do you think?"

He looked thoughtful. "I think I like it. Full partners?"

She stopped, placing her hand on her hip and cocking her head to one side. "We're only _full_ partners if we're having sex."

Despite his recently-acquired sense of humor, she could still make him blush. "Look, Vala..."

"It's okay, Daniel... I'm only teasing you, again."

"And I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's nice to _hear_ again. You've been a bit... distant lately."

"I've had a lot on my mind," she answered, wracking her brain for an excuse which didn't sound pathetic. "I wasn't sure how well you'd receive my, uh, _suggestions_ now that you remember your old girlfriend."

This time, Daniel froze in place. "Um, actually... I think she's my wife."

"Your _wife?_"

"Yeah. I mean, there's nothing tangible, no solid memories to make it up, but I get that feeling. Her name's Sha're."

Vala felt a sudden, irrational hatred of the absent Sha're. It figured that the woman who could put such a wistful expression on Daniel's face would have a lovely name to go with what he had already described as beautiful features and spirit. Surprised and more than a little annoyed with herself for her unwarranted jealousy, she nodded at him. "You've remembered a lot today."

"Actually, I remembered _that_ yesterday."

"Well, okay, but you've _still_ remembered a great deal today. Your... your wife, your friend's name... even your sense of humor."

"I know!" he responded, clearly enthused. "It's like actually getting my hands dirty and solving ancient mysteries are something I used to do. There's a word for it, I know, and it's just on the tip of my tongue..."

"Gold digger, treasure hunter, tomb raider," she supplied. "Excavator? Relic collector?"

"Archaeology! I was an archaeologist." He beamed, eyes shining in the darkness with the force of his excitement. "Not a prince or a soldier, I was a scientist... a scholar!"

_That_ made sense. Vala had noted earlier how easily he held the charcoal stick he used for his drawings, as though he'd been born with a writing implement in his hands. It also went a long way toward explaining his gift with languages: he'd studied them. "The fact that you've clearly had an extensive formal education narrows the field of possible planets of origin considerably," she remarked.

"It does?"

"Well, most places under the rule of the Goa'uld don't get the opportunity to found institutions of learning. Educated people share ideas, which is something the Goa'uld don't want. They don't want them to think for themselves."

"Knowledge is power," he agreed.

"But so is money," added a scratchy voice.

Vala whirled around, knowing who she'd see before he stepped out of the shadows near the entry staircase. "Arturis Maz."

"Vala Mal Doran," he replied. "I see you have a new boyfriend."

"I see you brought some friends of your own," she retorted, tracking the shapes of at least two more people approaching from either side and slightly behind. "To what do I owe the rather dubious pleasure of your company?"

The scar-faced man crossed his arms, the casual pose radiating confidence in his control of this confrontation. "A friend of mine told me you've been hanging out with the Hans lately. Now, that made me wonder what a group of powerful people like them see in such a pretty but _lowly _little thief such as you. Then I hear word that you and your new lover are searching for lost treasures of antiquity. Nobody's ever found Peklenc's secret stash, yet here the two of you are." He smirked. "Those packs look a lot heavier than they did coming in here."

"You were following us?" Daniel blurted.

"Actually, we got here _before_ you," Maz answered, giving Daniel a quick once-over before turning his gaze back to Vala. "Hundreds of people have turned over every stone in this temple and come up with nothing. You two seem to have found something in a matter of hours. We could use that kind of talent in the Lucien Alliance."

Of _course_ Maz had thrown his lot in with the Luciens. It was exactly the kind of behavior she expected out of a spineless bootlicker such as himself. "I thought I was just a _lowly_ little thief," she retorted. "The Lucien Alliance knows my policy when it comes to working with them... I don't."

"Well, then maybe your friend would care to join up." Maz grinned lecherously. "You're a pretty thing yourself."

"Excuse me?"

Vala's pulse raced, not liking the tone Maz's voice had taken, nor the confrontational one Daniel had adopted in response. "You're not his type."

"You wound me, sweetheart... I'm _every_body's type." He strode over to her and bent slightly, yanking her pistol out of its holster. "Now... let's take a look at the goodies in your packs, shall we?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maz's two goons clamp their hands on either side of Daniel's shoulders, relieving him of the zat in his coat pocket and effectively pinning him in place. She caught his eye and tried to convey a silent message to him, _Don't do anything stupid_.

Slowly, she slipped her bag off her back, releasing the buckle and flipping back the cover. "As you can see, it's not even full. The rumors of Peklenc's vast treasures have been vastly exaggerated."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Maz replied, digging a hand into the top bundle and coming back with a fistful of jewelry. He nodded to his henchman, who stripped Daniel's bag off his shoulders and yanked it open, the shorter of the two wiry men holding up a similar find. "Now tell us where to find the rest."

"There isn't any more," she insisted. "That's all there was."

"You're lying."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Yeah, she is. There's a lot more. Whole rooms of the stuff."

Vala stared at him incredulously, unable to fathom what the self-professed archaeologist was trying to accomplish. She almost winced when she realized his goal was likely to convince Maz to keep them alive so that they could lead him to the rest of the treasure. She should have thought of that herself.

"And you're an even worse liar than _she_ is," Maz snorted. "Whatever secret you two are hiding will die with you then. I've set a few explosives on the stairs that will make sure neither of you will ever leave here alive." He drew a small object out of his jacket with deliberate slowness, exaggerating the motion as he pressed the button on top. "At least you'll be able to enjoy each other's company... unless you want to change your minds. You have less than five minutes."

"I don't need five minutes," Daniel blurted. "I'll join the Lucien Alliance."

"Daniel!" she snapped, shocked at his betrayal.

"Smart move," Maz sneered, bending down to heft Vala's jewelry-laden pack over his shoulder.

Daniel bent to pick up his own pack, snapping the buckle shut and gathering the straps in his hands. He straightened suddenly, swinging the heavy bag around and connecting with his taller guard's jaw. The man flew backward, striking his head on the wall behind him and going down hard. The shorter man to the left reacted with surprising speed, aiming a punch at Daniel's face, but Vala didn't see if it hit.

She tackled Maz, knocking her pistol out of his hand. His breath whooshed from his lungs as he impacted the floor, but he recovered quickly, kicking Vala off him and surging to his feet. She rolled and came up, fists held defensively in front of her while backing up slowly. A quick glance showed Daniel wrestling with his own opponent, his greater height and bulk helping make up for his lack of fighting skills.

As though sensing her momentary distraction, Maz rushed, aiming a jab at her head she just barely managed to duck. She scored only a glancing blow across his ribs, dancing under his outstretched arm and trying to gain the upper hand. She didn't have enough weight to make punches do any damage without hurting herself in the process, so she needed a little space to get her legs into the action.

It was distance Maz wasn't willing to give her. He closed again, arms spread wide as though to grab her in a bear hug. He deflected the strike she aimed at his face off his forearm, raising his elbow just high enough she could again slip past him. This time, she aimed a backward kick at the bend of his knee, driving him to the ground. Before she could lose her momentary advantage, she spun about and planted her foot in his right ear. He howled with pain, rolling with the impact and sweeping out his own legs to trip her.

Her skull connected with the hard stone floor, shooting sparks across her vision. She tried to get her body to cooperate and roll _away_ from her opponent, but he was on her in a moment, flipping her on her front and pinning her arms behind her back while his own leg kept hers out of the action. He pressed his weight on her cruelly before yanking up, pulling her painfully to her knees while his leg ground her shins into the floor.

"Say goodnight, sweetheart," Maz growled in her ear, free hand snaking around to caress her jaw, clearly intending to snap her neck.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," a dangerous voice replied. There was a sudden flash of light beside her face, then Maz's grip was gone.

"Daniel?" she gasped.

The dark blond man lowered her pistol. "We'd better get out of here _now_."

Vala dove for her pack, wrestling it over her shoulder as Daniel slung his own across his back. A thousand questions raged through her mind, but the only thing of importance now was escaping the temple before Maz's explosives detonated. Daniel was a surprisingly fast runner, but his speed was now hindered by a noticeable limp. He hadn't gotten out of his own fight unscathed, it seemed.

They reached the stairs, almost slamming into the wall beside them as they scrambled to turn the corner and dash up the steps. A detached part of her brain noted the dark lumps of explosive charges on the stairs before they emerged onto the ground level and fled out the front door. Her eyes watered at the sudden brilliance of sunlight, but they had no time to slow down as they raced across the temple courtyard, putting distance between themselves and the impending blast.

The shockwave lifted her off her feet, and she had the sense to let go of her pack before she hit the ground, tucking her shoulder to lessen the impact. Vala rolled to her knees and spun around, watching in amazed horror as the magnificent pillars supporting the temple's massive facade crumbled, bringing the whole front of the building crashing down. She was theu struck by a different force, realizing belatedly that it was Daniel pushing her face to the ground and covering her body with his own. It was a smart move, she realized, hearing flying chunks of stone rain around them as they lay with their cheeks pressed together, gasping for air. Finally, he rolled off her, allowing her to turn over and sit up.

The temple was _gone_. Maz's charges had brought down almost the entire side of the mountain, a pinkish cloud of dust coloring the air around them. It was a little difficult to breathe.

"Let's get out of here," she managed, meeting Daniel's eyes with a shiver. The wondrous blue light was a little dimmer, perhaps even a little cold. It was only then that she remembered what he had done.

Daniel had defeated his opponent, found Vala's gun, and looked Maz straight in the eye. He'd even had time for a sarcastic remark before he'd snapped off a well-aimed shot that had made a mess of the Lucien's face. Numbly, her left hand crept up to her cheek, fingers coming back smeared with the blood of the man Daniel had killed.

"Let's go," he agreed, expression grimly determined.

For the first time, she was scared of who he might turn out to be.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Feel free to yell at me for being evil, _especially_ since I'm taking the weekend off from posting. //wicked grin// 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Pushing open the door, Vala paused to make sure she hadn't disturbed the occupant of the room's only bed. The light of the setting sun cast long lines across the room where it passed through the single window's curtain, but left the rest of the room plunged in shadow. There was no sudden movement from the sleeping man, so she quietly closed the door.

She hovered over the bed for just a moment before oh-so-carefully sitting down on the edge. Daniel lay sprawled beneath the twisted sheet, a tiny line of tension betraying his discomfort. He was naked from the waist up, and even in the dim lighting, Vala could count every painful-looking bruise and scrape on his face, neck, and torso. His dark silk pants had been pulled up to the left knee and the limb propped up on a pillow with a cold cloth wrapped around it. Despite the thickness of the fabric, it was obvious the joint hidden beneath was swollen to more than twice its normal size.

After their timely escape from the explosion of Peklenc's temple, Daniel and Vala helped one another to their feet. The front of the mountain continued to tumble down as more rocks fell free, loosened by the concussion of the blast. They continued to stare at the destruction for a few long moments before meeting one another's eyes.

The narrow margin of their escape and the events which had precipitated the temple's destruction left her in desperate need for a catharsis of some kind. Upon seeing Daniel's face, hair, and clothes covered in the pink dust of the local rock, the tension expelled itself from Vala in the form of a muffled giggle which quickly developed into side-splitting laugh. His grim expression changed to confusion, then he began to chuckle, too. Soon they were holding onto one another to keep from falling over again.

After they began to wear down, Vala wiped at her eyes and dusty face. "We should _really_ get going. It's a long way back to the Stargate with these packs."

Recovering their slightly-worse-for-the-wear bags, the treasure hunters turned and headed out of the ruins. By the end of the first mile, Daniel was limping badly. Halfway through their second mile, most of his weight was on Vala.

"I need to check your leg," she insisted, stopping by a pile of boulders and digging her thankfully-intact water flask out of her pack.

"It won't do any good," he sighed, accepting the drink with a grateful nod. His own flask had sprung a leak when his bag hit the ground in the explosion. "Your friend's little pal did a pretty good job of trying to remove my kneecap with the heel of his boot."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. The sooner we get back to 'Gate and I can get some ice on it, the better."

So of _course_ the stubborn fool insisted on walking the remaining mile back to the Stargate, despite the fact that he was sweating profusely and looked like he'd throw up any minute. He had a few scrapes and bruises on his jaw and cheek which really began to stand out against his increasing pallor, and the orbit of his right eye began to darken. When Vala pointed it out to him, he shrugged the injury off with a remark about the guy being left-handed, but said nothing of his obvious discomfort.

He nearly fell through the other side of the wormhole, Vala just barely managing to keep him upright until a pair of the Han guards came to relieve her. She put her foot down firmly, sending him off to have his wounds tended while she explained to Han Kazo what had happened. He was disappointed in the destruction of the temple, but very pleased with the prizes they had managed to salvage, and vocal in his appreciation of their survival and relative health.

Vala was then shown to a hot bath and given an attractive silk garment and matching shoes to wear, all of which went a long way toward refreshing her. She was bruised and sore all over, but perfectly aware it could have been much, much worse. When she emerged from the bathing chamber, she was told that Daniel had passed out while being treated and had been bathed and moved to one of the guest bedrooms in the enormous complex. Rather than permitting the servant to lead her to her own room, Vala made a detour for the Stargate.

Throwing a wave at Sarilis, Vala entered her bedroom above the former bounty hunter's shop and dug a bag out from beneath the mattress. One of the items inside was a small wooden chest in which she stored her most precious keepsakes, and the other was a linen bundle. Stuffing the bag and box away again, she opened the cloth wrappings of the second item on top of her bed. When the last fold had been smoothed away, she stared at the tools contained within: a Goa'uld ribbon device, a hand-sized healing stone, and a Tok'ra voice modulator. Satisfied with the bundle's contents, she re-rolled the package and carried it back up the hill to the Stargate, storing all but one piece with her gear before crossing the hall to Daniel's room.

Resisting the urge to stroke back the stray lock of hair on his forehead, Vala slipped her fingers into the handle of the healing device and breathed deeply. Holding the jewel just above Daniel's torso, she concentrated on willing the device to activate. When it began to glow with its restorative energy, she moved the beam over his torn knee and let the stone work its wonders.

"Sha're?"

Vala looked up in surprise, realizing belatedly that in the darkness, her hair loose about her face and a glowing object on her hand, she probably bore a startling resemblance to his long-lost wife. "It's Vala," she replied, her voice sounding considerably steadier than she thought it would. "I'm trying to heal your knee."

"Oh," he answered softly, struggling to sit up to see what she was doing. "It feels much better already."

"Just lie still... I'll be done in just a moment." Once she was satisfied the joint was repaired, she moved the device back to his chest, smiling to herself as the bruises and black eye faded. "Done," she announced, shutting off the beam and sagging just a little.

"Thank you," he smiled, pushing himself upright and scooting back against the headboard. Bending down, he unwrapped the cloth and tossed it in the floor, flexing his knee experimentally before sliding the pant leg down to his ankle. He straightened up and held out his left arm, inviting her to sit next to him.

She shook her head. "I should probably get back to my own room."

"Stay. Please." The room was darkening rapidly as the sun went down, leaving Vala to wonder what his expressive eyes were conveying this time. As though taking her hesitation for indecision, Daniel added, "I saw the way you looked at me when I killed Maz. I think we need to talk."

"Okay," she agreed, but didn't move from the edge of the bed. "I can say I was a bit surprised... and at the same time not. You've done that before, haven't you?"

"Killed someone? Yes. There aren't any faces other than his right now, which scares me. I had hoped I would remember everyone I ever killed... and now I realize there were probably too many to remember them all. Holding that gun... that felt normal--not _natural_, but close--and that scares me more than _anything_."

Vala shuddered involuntarily, certainly not going to argue with that sentiment. "When I was host to Qetesh," she began a moment later, "she used my hands to kill so many. She used my _voice_ to order the deaths of countless more. When the Tok'ra freed me, I swore to try to always find a way to _avoid_ killing someone."

"The gun's for show," he realized. "It's more of an implied threat than a weapon."

"Exactly. Don't get me wrong, Daniel, I _do_ know how to use it and many other firearms... I'd just rather _not_."

"Me too. How about we stick with zats from now on, eh?"

She smiled, even though she knew he couldn't see the expression. "If only it were that simple. The unfortunate thing is, violence is all many people in this galaxy know. I would _love_ to find a place where I can... stop running, stop pretending, just stop being practically _everything _that I have to be to survive out here, but that's a lot easier to say than it is to do. I've never fit in anywhere... not even on my own home planet."

"I know what you mean," Daniel replied, shoulders slumping a little more. "Living in Makosis felt so familiar to me... I felt welcome and wanted, of course, but I didn't feel like I belonged."

"That's because you were meant to be with your friends," she suggested.

"Maybe not," he admitted. "I... On the way back to the 'Gate today, I remembered fighting with them. I don't remember what the arguments were about, but they were sometimes very bitter, especially between me and Jack. He'd say some hurtful things, then I'd go and say something rude and condescending right back at him." He hung his head, wrapping his arms around his chest. "I think I walked away... abandoned them."

"What about your wife?" Vala asked. "Sha're?"

"She's dead," he answered. "There are no details, nothing specific... just a feeling of loss... like I mourned her a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he assured her. "For all I know it was _my_ fault."

"Daniel..."

He sighed. "There's no point in guessing, though. I'm beginning to remember more and more, Vala, but there's still so much more I don't know. For the first time, I'm truly afraid of what I might find."

Vala shivered at how closely his thoughts mirrored her own just after the collapse of the temple. "I must admit, I wondered the same thing," she started, staring down at the barely-visible outline of the healing device on her lap. "Then I remembered that in the time I've come to know you, you've never been anything but kind and generous. I know that if Maz had given you any other choice, you would have found a way to save my life without taking his. The truth is, _he_ didn't give you that choice."

"I know."

"Then please believe me when I say that you are the..." She paused, breathing deeply. She didn't want to say the wrong thing--didn't want to damage their tenuous friendship--_especially_ now,when he was doubtlessly still reeling from what he'd only recently discovered about himself. "You're the type of person who doesn't give up easily," she began, instead. "The injuries you received fighting to save us both in the temple are proof enough of that. I'm sure that if you really _did_ walk out on your friends, there wasn't anything else you _could_ do."

After a long stretch of awkward silence, he cleared his throat. "Are you calling me stubborn?"

Grateful for his sudden levity, she grinned. "That's one word for it. Pig-headed comes to mind, too."

"Oh, this from the woman who keeps trying to get me naked?"

Impishly, Vala tossed her head so her hair would flounce, knowing he could see the gesture silhouetted against the window. "Looks to me like I'm halfway there." At his answering groan, she patted his newly-healed knee and rose from the bed. "Goodnight, Daniel."

"Goodnight, Vala," he replied. He waited until she was at the door before adding, "Sweet dreams, Lady Pirate."

Vala smiled to herself and pulled the door closed, crossed the hall to her own room, then shut herself inside before flopping bonelessly on the bed.

She was _definitely_ in trouble.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Well, I _was _going to be REALLY mean and make today's chapter the next SG-1 installment... but then I decided to be nice and switch the order of the two chapters. I made you suffer all weekend long anyway, right? 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Unscheduled activation!"

Sam Carter stopped in her tracks, turning around in the hall and dashing toward the control room. Her commanding officer, Colonel O'Neill, was already there, presumably having still been conferring with General Hammond after their mission debriefing. A clatter of footsteps on metal stairs heralded Jonas' arrival, Teal'c following just behind at a statelier pace.

"Receiving Tok'ra IDC," Sergeant Harriman announced, and Sam held her breath as the iris slide open

Her wish was granted. "Dad," she grinned, jogging out of the control room, her team on her heels. She met her father at the base of the 'Gate's ramp, closing in for a welcoming hug as the wormhole disengaged.

"Hey, Sammy," Jacob Carter smiled, only too happy to share in the affectionate gesture.

"Where's _my_ hug?" a voice whined.

"Nice to see you too, Jack," Jacob remarked dryly. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but you're in a surprisingly good mood today."

It wasn't just today. Jack had been positively cheery for more than three weeks straight. Sam recalled her own elation when the colonel breathlessly exclaimed that Daniel had been on that planet, that the man she loved as brother--even more than the sibling who shared the same blood as her--was _alive_. Watching Daniel die slowly and painfully as radiation poisoning devoured his flesh was the hardest thing she'd ever been through in her life. When he'd appeared on Abydos, she'd been grateful to see him despite the niggling hurt that he'd never come to see her like he had Jack and Teal'c.

After the battle was over and Abydos and Daniel were both gone, she'd staggered to her on-base quarters and cried herself to sleep. That night, she'd dreamed of the mission where she'd been subjected to Nirrti's genetic experiments, only this time she remembered the ordeal with Daniel sitting by her side, holding her hand and looking soothing and eminently huggable in his cream sweater and khaki slacks. She mentioned the dream to her teammates the next day, and both Jack and Teal'c confirmed the outfit as the way Daniel had appeared to them in _their_ times of need.

The good spirits extended to more than just Jack, actually. Ever since word spread around base that Daniel was "out there somewhere", the personnel who knew him were all considerably cheerier. Teal'c walked around with that enigmatic smile he must have learned from staring at Jonas' poster-reproduction of the _Mona Lisa_; the expression had the added benefit of unnerving the SGC's newest members. The doctors and nurses in the infirmary chattered pleasantly while going about their non-crisis duties and the buzz in the mess hall was back to an audible level after a year of near-silence. Even Jonas' perpetual smile was now genuine in nature and not his usual mask.

The greatest change, of course, was Jack. He'd spent the second of their two days on Makosis with Atrus, ostensibly to discuss their mutual friend. The two men had gone fishing, and even though they didn't speak the same language, Jack insisted they hadn't needed to, that they shared an 'understanding'.

He was right, it seemed. Neither man returned with any fish.

"Oh, I'm just fine and dandy. Tried to retire again, changed my mind, the usual," the colonel rattled happily in that inane way of his he'd only recently rediscovered. "Why don't I let you tell him, Carter? It's your turn."

"Your turn? For what?" Jacob asked.

"To give you the good news. She let me tell Hammond, Teal'c got to tell Bra'tac, and we even let Jonas surprise Doc Frasier."

Sam smiled. "Daniel's alive, Dad."

The retired general-turned-Tok'ra stared at each member of SG-1 as though they were pod people. Finally, he blinked. "As in flesh-and-blood?"

"Yep," answered Jack, rocking back on his heels and looking every bit as pleased as a proud papa. She shot him a bemused look, but doubted it had any effect on him. He'd been receiving lots of those lately, mostly from startled airmen unused to seeing the base second-in-command looking so... giddy. The ones who'd been here for three years or more remembered other times when he'd smiled so readily.

"Nothing keeps that kid dead for long, does it?" her dad laughed, looking around the 'Gate room. "So where is he?"

"He's not here," Sam began. "That's why we sent for you." She held out her arm, gesturing for him to follow her and the rest of her team to the briefing room.

General Hammond had finally finished up his phone call with the Pentagon, so was able to join them at the table. "Good to see you again, Jacob."

"Likewise, George. So what's this about finding Daniel but him not being here?"

"Three weeks ago, we 'Gated to P11-887," Sam began, folding her hands on the table in front of her as Hammond gave her the nod to begin. "We had some initial connection problems, but those cleared up on a second dialling attempt. Once on the other side, a native led us to the nearby village, where we learned that Daniel had lived there for several months."

"He left that morning, actually," Jack added. "Found himself a new girlfriend and disappeared through the 'Gate."

Jacob gaped. "Why hasn't he tried to contact Earth?"

"Well, we don't think he can," Jonas replied. "According to the village leader, he just appeared there one day--in a flash of light, they said--and with no memory. He only remembered his first name the day before we arrived."

"But it was _obviously_ him," the colonel finished. "Their description matched perfectly, Atrus recognized my name, and the most convincing of all: Danny left a carving with the villagers that looked just like the team patch."

The last time Sam had seen her dad look so astonished was just after he'd woken up from blending with Selmak, his symbiote. "Holy Hannah!" he exclaimed, just as he had back then. "That's amazing!"

"The locals didn't see the address Daniel and the mystery woman dialled, and even if they had, there's no guarantee they stayed on that planet for any amount of time." Sam flicked a quick glance at her teammates, then at the general. "As much as we'd _love_ to go looking for him, we really don't have any clues where to start."

"So I guess you want the Tok'ra to keep an eye out for him, huh?"

Hammond leaned back in his chair. "We'd appreciate it a great deal, Jacob. Teal'c's already asked the Rebel Jaffa to watch for him."

"Master Bra'tac and I have encouraged discretion," Teal'c announced. "It would be unwise to make inquiries as to Daniel Jackson's whereabouts where agents of Anubis may hear."

"It wouldn't be a good idea," Jacob agreed. "How is Bra'tac, anyway?"

Sam smiled, remembering how the "oldest and wisest" of the Tok'ra and the elderly Jaffa had forged a mutual respect for one another during the invasion of the Alpha Site by a Goa'uld Ashrak. Then, when Bra'tac and Teal'c's son Rya'c went missing during a recruiting run, Jacob had shown up with evidence leading SG-1 on a timely rescue to a planet called Erebus. The elderly Jaffa had been out of tretonin, the life-saving drug which had replaced his and Teal'c's slain larval symbiotes.

"He is well... and he looks forward to settling his debt with you one day."

Her dad chuckled. "Tell him not to be in too much of a hurry." He looked around the briefing table. "Is that it? Is that the only reason you wanted to see me?"

"Shame on you, Jacob," Jack chided. "You need another reason to come see your daughter?"

"Well, when you put it _that _way..."

Hammond spoke up then, dampening the mood a little. "Actually, there is another reason we asked for you. Ever since the destruction of Anubis' mothership, we've been trying to keep a low profile while Ba'al and Yu battle over his territories. We've been hearing some disturbing rumors through the Jaffa rebels that Anubis survived."

"He did," Jacob confirmed. "Unfortunately, we lost the spy within his ranks shortly after she sabotaged the super-weapon, but we did get word from a more distantly-placed agent that Anubis is working on some sort of new weapons and armor for his Jaffa. It's supposed to make them 'invincible'."

"Every Achilles has its heel," Jack smirked, and Sam looked at him in surprise. "What? I'm not allowed to know Greek mythology?"

"Indeed," Teal'c deadpanned. "However, I am uncertain as to the veracity of _Xena: Warrior Princess_."

Sam smothered her grin as her dad frowned. "I didn't know that was still on TV."

"Don't say a word, T!"

"Colonel O'Neill has several episodes on tape," Jonas piped up, sensing his opportunity.

Jack glared. "Jonas? Every nice word I've ever said to you, I take back."

Sam couldn't stop a brief snort of laughter, becoming the new receipient of the colonel's feigned irritation.

Yes, it was nice to have him back to being himself. The only thing missing was Daniel's voice, adding in his own good-natured jabs. She glanced at her dad, and he returned her gaze with a nod. Even if the Tok'ra as a whole didn't do anything to help locate Daniel, Jacob would do his part.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Ask and ye shall receive... a chapter from the SGC _and_ a quick-fix for missing email alerts! 

For a step-by-step how-to, go to www dot alexandria-archives dot com slash FFnet dot html


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"We couldn't really have expected to get so lucky every time," Vala began unexpectedly.

Daniel nodded in agreement, dropping his head down to rest on his chin and stared across the scarred table. They'd come this planet following one of several leads the Hans had given them, trusting in the pair to pursue whichever of the lost treasures they chose themselves. Unfortunately, they'd arrived on the planet to discover that most of the land immediately around the Stargate was covered in very dense growth. The locals used the numerous waterways as their means of travel and _never_ ventured into the dark, dangerous wilderness. "So what do we do now?"

Vala took a swig from her tankard. "We go back the the Hans and give our apologies, then pick up another of the leads. I'm certainly not about to traipse all over the jungle in search of a cave system the locals don't think even exists, and they're too afraid of the nasty creatures in the darkness to go find out for themselves. Besides, legends have such a terrible tendency to be pure fiction."

"In my experience, legends have a tendency to be based on _fact_ where the Goa'uld are concerned." She raised an eyebrow at him, as though questioning his experience. "Arch-ae-ol-o-gist, remember? From a planet obviously left un-touched by the Goa'uld for thousands of years?"

She shrugged. "Probably a lot of history _is_ disguised as myths, then, but I don't think that's the case here. The Lost Caverns of Kebek Ramor are a fairytale, and not the kind where I'm a pirate and you're a prince, either. Seriously, Daniel... a fire-breathing _dragon_?"

Daniel leaned across the table slightly. "Isn't the fact that so many cultures share the mythology of a dragon proof in itself that dragons may not have been so mythical themselves?"

"What?"

He took a breath. "I've been comparing some of the different mythologies and pantheons using the information at the Han's library, specifically anything dealing with cross-cultural similarities. The library computer is really quite good at cross-referencing different books, once you figure out how to use it."

"Oh, so _that's_ where you were all week. We spent five days in a gorgeous palace being waited on hand-and-foot and you wasted most of your time in the _library_?"

"Arch-ae-ol-o-gist," he repeated, grinning. "Anyway, dragons and phoenixes are two things which crop up in various mythologies from several of the major Goa'uld families. Now, we've actually seen evidence of the first... the _Benuui_ was a depiction of a phoenix."

Vala's eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with the Caverns of Kebek Ramor, exactly?"

"Nothing specifically," he replied. "I'm just pointing out that just because it's supposed to be the lair of a fire-breathing dragon, doesn't mean that there didn't _used_ to be a fire-breathing dragon that really occupied it."

"Well, in _that_ case, Daniel, we'd probably do well to be a _lot_ better armed and armored before we try to take on a dragon."

She was teasing, and he knew it. It was odd how their relationship had changed almost overnight, shifting from an alliance of disparate--and desperate--individuals in need of one another's skills, to an easy-going, casual friendship of surprising warmth and good humor. Even though he'd spent most of the last week with his nose in a book, they'd shared their meals together--after he'd been politely kicked out of the library by one of the servants--and chatted amicably both then and at other Han family gatherings.

He was remembering so much more now, even though much of what he knew still remained shadowed and unclear. Despite the niggling feeling that he had gotten into some very bitter fights with Jack, the other snatches of remembrance Daniel had of the older man were all pleasant, all moments of relaxed familiarity. Some were darker, like sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a gray room waiting for the approach of something they both dreaded. Others were lighter and more care-free, such as relaxing in front of a flashing, colorful box, drinking and eating food Daniel didn't particularly care for, but consumed because it was just part of "unwinding" with his friend. He suspected the reason these came to light more readily now than the arguments was because he and Vala had adjusted their own relationship to a more comfortable companionship.

He'd also discovered three more languages he knew, based on texts found in the Hans' collection, and two others he recognized but couldn't immediately translate. Because one of the "new" languages was very similar to one on which he'd already tested, he and Vala now put his total number of known languages at twenty, and the count could go higher still if he could figure out the two which were just out of his reach. Han Yuna, having overheard their discussion, had shaken her head in wonder.

More importantly, though, the two treasure hunters had discovered common ground, even though--as Vala had so eloquently phrased it--most of Daniel's territory was uncharted. She'd even thrown in a flirtatious suggestion to help him with "mapping" that had left them both gasping for air between howls of laughter. Humor aside, they were both stubborn, independent, and intelligent. They'd each had rocky relationships with those they'd been closest to--Vala admitting that she and her father hadn't been on speaking terms for almost twenty years--and both felt that while home was the "road" for now, they still craved to find a place where they belonged.

"You think we'll know our home when we see it?" Vala had asked, snuggling against his side as they lazed about in the drawing room, listening to the Hans' youngest daughter give a mini-recital on her _guzheng_.

"It's possible," he'd agreed, arm curled around her shoulders. Even the realization that she'd said "our home" and not "our _homes_" hadn't come as surprise, nor had the thought that he was slowly becoming comfortable with the idea. Home, right now, was with Vala... so why wouldn't it be the same in the future?

That, as his friend Jack would have said, opened a whole new can of worms. In the last week, he'd remembered his wife, remembered he'd _lost_ his wife, and was now developing a more-than-casual friendship with a woman who vexed, annoyed, perplexed, and intrigued him. When he'd awakened to find Vala bent over him with a glowing tool in her hands, he'd briefly mistaken her for the late Sha're, even though he'd known better. Once the connection had been made, though, he couldn't stop making comparisons: their hair, their spirit, their stubbornness, and their determination to _not_ be ruled by their tormentors.

He wasn't entirely sure of the details, but he knew Sha're had beaten her demon before she died, though the victory had come at the cost of her own life. Vala had had help in defeating her own parasite, but her strength was no less. The way she had described the horrors inflicted upon her by Qetesh, he knew that her freedom had come at a price. Since she didn't seem to suffer from nightmares like _he_ certainly did, Daniel could only guess that she'd found a way to suppress the worst of what she'd witnessed.

The woman in question cleared her throat, startling him out of his reverie. "You're right, of course," he blurted, recollecting his thoughts. "If we tried to find the caves out in the jungle without knowing where we're going, we'd be _asking_ for trouble. It would be far better if we got a cargo ship or something to scan for tunnels beneath the surface."

"Okay," she began, propping her forearms on the table and mirroring his forward lean. "Well, Mister Brains-of-the-Outfit, how do you propose we get one of _those?_"

He shrugged. "I thought I'd leave that up to Miss Finances."

She shook her head. "Remember what Kazo said last month? Between the Goa'uld and the Lucien Alliance, there's a shortage of ships right now. We'll have to find a _lot_ more treasure if we want to buy one."

Daniel shook his head, marveling to himself how far he'd come in a month. "Remember how we met?"

"I'm not the one with the memory problems, Dan--oh."

He raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"I take it back... I'm a _terrible_ influence on you." She tipped back the rest of her drink and rose from the table.

"Well, _yes_, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't a saint even before we met," he answered, bounding up from his own stool to follow her out the door. "Come on!"

"It's a _horrible _idea, and I can't believe you're suggesting it."

Daniel shook his head. "I notice you haven't said 'no' yet."

Vala stopped in the middle of the muddy street. "It'll never work."

"You only say that because you've never _gotten_ it to work," he reminded her. "We're a _team_. Together we can do the impossible, right?" She was still frowning at him stubbornly, so he pressed on determinedly. "The _Benuui_ was missing for over fifty years and _we_ found it!"

"_You_ found it."

"I wouldn't have gone looking for it without you," he replied, raising a finger in the air. "Okay, how about this? Peklenc's treasure hadn't been seen for over a _thousand_ years. Neither of us could have found it on our own, but together we _did!_"

She didn't stand a chance in the face of such unfailing optimism. "Oh, fine. But our priorities still lie with our work with the Hans, _not_ stealing a ship!"

Daniel beamed. "And _now_ we're pirates."

"Oh, I know I'm going to regret this," Vala sighed.

"Oh, no you won't," he replied. "If I know you, you're going to have fun relieving someone of their property... especially if it's a ship we take from the Goa'uld or someone in the Lucien Alliance, right?"

"Well, I do have to admit that the Luciens owe us for trying to kill us and succeeding in destroying a very lucrative business opportunity. We were even going to make that our secret underground lair," she pouted.

He cocked his head to one side. "And there's _another_ good reason for getting our own ship. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't cargo ships have ring platforms?"

"Yes. And?"

"Couldn't we use those to ring down to Peklenc's palace?"

Vala stared at him in shock for a long moment. Then she let out a squeal of delight and threw herself at him for an exuberant hug.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Let the deluge of email begin... FFnet's SMTP server seem to have resumed operation!

Oh yeah, the chapter! It took only TWENTY chapters (seventeen, less SG-1's input) to turn Daniel and Vala into pirates! Well, not that they've succeeded in commandeering a ship yet, but they've at least declared their intent, right?


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"This was a bad idea."

"It was _your _idea."

"I didn't say we should walk into a trap, did I?"

"It wasn't a trap, it was a mud pit."

"How did we get caught if it wasn't a trap?"

"You're the one with all the book smarts."

"You're the one with all the street smarts."

"'Street smarts' don't include swamps."

"I don't think 'book smarts' cover 'em either."

"Well, you're the one who--"

The young, nervous-looking guard banged the butt of his rifle into the metal bars. "Will you two _stop_?"

Daniel barely suppressed a wicked grin at the obvious frustration of their captor, sharing a knowing glance with Vala through the divider between their prison cells. They'd come to this watery planet in search of yet another of the many lost treasures of the galaxy and had been spotted and surrounded by some sort of local patrol. Fortunately, the militia had rules to follow, and had merely locked the two outsiders into the garrison dungeon, presumably until their superiors came to question them.

So far, they'd been treated well enough, but that wasn't necessarily saying that their accommodations were pleasant. Daniel had suspected that a dungeon in a swamp would be damp, moldy, and smelly... and he was very disappointed to be proven right. They were rapidly growing restless with boredom, which is what had inspired their childish game.

After a long moment of quiet, their watcher relaxed, thinking he'd put an end to the bickering. Vala flicked the young man a quick glance out of the corner of her eye, and Daniel nodded subtly. It might not be wise or productive, but at least it kept them amused.

"You're the one who said we should surrender."

"You're the one who thought we should keep running."

"How was I to know we'd step into a mud pit?"

"You're the one with the perfect vision."

"Well, if your vision wasn't so lousy, _you_ might've seen the pit."

"How's that my fault?"

The beleaguered guard struck the bars again. "Enough!" Scowling, he spun about and marched over to the door leading out of the jail, banging on it and yelling out for someone. The door swung open and the youth stormed out, slamming it shut behind him.

Vala visibly sulked. "Well, so much for our entertainment." She glanced around the dank prison, then murmured, "See anything interesting?"

"Our guards, actually," Daniel answered just as quietly. "Their clothes were just as muddy as ours, but underneath, they looked like some sort of camouflage... like an organized military. Their weapons looked pretty advanced, too."

"Somehow, this primitive dungeon doesn't quite fit the rest of the picture," she agreed. "I'm guessing this planet's not been occupied by the Goa'uld in many years. The Stargate was in a cave--"

"--And I made the comment as we passed through that some of the boulders looked freshly-fallen. They didn't have any moss or other growth on them," Daniel finished.

"The 'Gate's in a cave in a remote area, and the entrance cavern's only recently been opened by seismic activity," she guessed. "I bet these people have never met anyone from another planet."

"Surprise," Daniel quipped. "So... first contact. I guess we need to convince them we're peaceful explorers from another planet?"

"Much better option than trying to explain we're marauding spacers here to steal an ancient treasure."

"There's that." He started to add another sarcastic comment to the mix when the abused-sounding hinges of the dungeon door squeaked open again.

Two newcomers stepped through, dressed in matching tailored suits that Daniel's brain immediately called "class A's," though what _that _meant, he hadn't a clue. He did realize that all the shiny bits of metal attached to the shoulders and fronts of their jackets probably meant these were officers, perhaps those in charge of this waterlogged facility. They were trailed by another of the ubiquitous camo-clad soldiers--though not covered in mud--who took up guard on the step beside the old door.

The man kept his face as carefully neutral as possible, but the woman's eyes seemed to hold just the faintest hint of amusement. She was older than her companion with gray-streaked blond hair and laugh lines on her face, but nearly a head shorter than Vala. The dark-haired man was probably nearer Daniel's own age--whatever that was, he grinned inwardly--and actually an inch or two taller than him.

The woman cleared her throat. "The Natalro Accords forbid the practice of torture--"

"Lucky us," Vala remarked dryly.

"--Therefore, I ask that you stop tormenting my cadets," she finished as though the other woman hadn't spoken.

"Cadets?" Daniel asked, smothering his grin. "This is some sort of training facility?"

She raised an eyebrow. "This is Expeditionary Preparedness Encampment Malkin Beta."

"Oh, thank you very much for explaining that, but we're not from around here," he replied. "My name's Daniel, and this is Vala... we're peaceful explorers from another planet."

The female officer's other eyebrow went up, and she tipped her head to one side. "Another _planet?_ Well, I must admit, young man, that's new to me."

"Wonderful," Vala jumped in, missing the sarcasm--intentionally, he suspected. "We'll save the 'take me to your leader' speeches and just ask to be let back out into the ever-so-lovely swamp you have here. And don't worry, we can find our own way home just fine."

"I don't think you understand, Miss... Vala? The two of you have trespassed on a secure military training facility, which is an offense punishable by a minimum of a five-year prison term."

"Can we get time out for good behavior?" the incorrigible thief asked hopefully.

Daniel groaned. "Look... uh..."

"Syntagos Balin," the woman supplied. "This is Phelagos Nivene."

"We're really, _really_ not from around here. Honestly," he pled. "There's a cave out there in the swamp that holds a giant, circular ring of metal called a Stargate, which is a device capable of transporting people all across the galaxy."

"Really."

"Uh, yeah." Realizing neither officer looked the _least_ bit impressed, he sighed. "Look, the items your troops--your cadets--took off of us should be proof enough that we're not from this planet. You should be _really _careful, though, because some of them are, uh..."

"Are weapons?" Balin asked. "We gathered that. Trespassing on a secure military training facility while in possession of unregistered firearms is punishable by a _ten-_year term."

"So much for good behavior," Vala sulked. "But tell me: will we have to spend all ten years in these _grand _accommodations, or will it be somewhere warmer and dryer? Less smelly, too, if you please."

"It's a state violation, Miss Vala... convicted offenders go to Bauras, of course."

"Of course," Vala agreed, then muttered, "whatever _that_ is."

"Melano Bauras Immuras," Nivene spoke up for the first time. Daniel and Vala just blinked. "It's a prison?"

"Oh!" Daniel exclaimed. "Why didn't you just say so?" He bit the inside of his cheek, realizing that now was _not_ the time for Jack's behavioral influences to show themselves. "Sorry, my mouth just gets away from me sometimes."

"That happens to aliens, too?" Balin asked drily.

"Good one!" Vala exclaimed. "But yes it does, particularly the males."

Balin's lips twitched as Daniel leveled a mock-glare at his partner. "I see."

"Despite appearances and other similarities between our people, Vala and are from a different planet entirely. Actually, _two_ different planets."

"Or so we think," the raven-haired woman added.

"Men are from Mars, women are from Venus," he joked, earning himself three confused expressions, with only the guard at the door refraining from staring at him. "Sorry. About five months ago, I had my memory erased, so I'm not really sure _what_ planet's my homeworld. But that's beside the point."

"In your case, that _is_ the point," Vala joked.

"True. _Any_who... from what historians have been able to gather, thousands of years ago, a race called the Goa'uld discovered a planet full of primitive life-forms. They soon found that these people made excellent... uh, slaves... and seeded them all across the galaxy. Those slaves were our ancestors... all of ours: the two of you, me, Vala, everyone--or at least everyone who looks somewhat like we do. Now, the First World was lost in time, but many believe that it still exists."

"It's possible _your_ planet is the First World," added Vala.

Balin looked skeptical. "Well, so far you've not told me anything but a creatively abridged version of the Enhodos."

"Enhodos?"

"Um, 'inward journey'?" Daniel puzzled. "Oh, 'arrival!' Sorry, Vala, not the First World."

"Drat!"

"There _is_ one way to prove they're telling the truth," Nivene began. "We could have samples of their _codicus _analyzed."

Balin nodded. "And if you _are_ from this world, your profile will be matched and you will be punished for your transgressions. Perhaps another year or two on your sentence would serve as suitable recompense for your insolence and lack of cooperation."

"Oh, goody, more years of service. But do we get to go free when you find out we're _not_ from this planet?" Vala asked.

"We shall see," she replied, "but that will not be up to me. In the meantime, you will be moved to less-crude quarters."

"Thank heaven for small favors," Daniel sighed. "Not that this place hasn't been enjoyable... or the company pleasant. Any chance of getting a shower and a meal?"

Balin's lips quirked. "We can arrange that." She nodded at the guard at the door, who acknowledged the order and summoned another soldier.

The treasure hunters were instructed to present their arms through the horizontal food slots on the cell doors, whereupon the two soldiers fastened thin metal wrist-restraints in place before unlocking the noisily protesting gates. They were then herded up the stairs into the muddy courtyard though which they'd been dragged earlier. This time, the enclosure contained a boxy "thing"--for lack of a better term--covered in a camouflage paint-scheme. As they were ushered toward it, a panel opened on the side of the vehicle and swung downward to form a ramp.

The interior was even less-spacious than Daniel thought it'd be, but he did note that the walls at the door were about seven inches thick. Benches lined the walls to either side, and he and Vala were guided to sit on the left as Balin took a seat opposite them. One of the guards remained standing in the compartment while the other passed through the door in the wall to what was probably the cockpit of this armored troop transport. Nivene, it seemed, was not to travel with them.

Soon, the rear hatch lifted into place and the craft shuddered with a high-pitched whine. There was the brief sensation of rising in the air, then they began to move, presumably out of the dilapidated fort. Once underway, Balin leaned forward on her own bench. "Listen, I'm sure neither one of you truly wants this situation to devolve any further."

"You got _that_ right," Daniel answered.

"I was a student at Naetilius Scola myself. Mid-session exams were last week, which means that you finals take _this_ week to try to pull off some crazy idea you've had. If you'll cooperate and tell me who you _really_ are before I commit medical resources to the task, I'm willing to work with your professors to prevent you from being expelled for this stunt."

"Stunt?" he repeated numbly. "You think we're... college students pulling a senior prank?"

"Neither of you look _quite_ young enough, but the accents are very well done. I'm sure a little make-up here and there goes a long way, and your so-called 'weapons' were a brilliant touch." She leaned back in her seat, the amused glint back in her eye. "I must admit, your genuine-looking reactions to those ridiculous prison terms were the best part of the whole act."

"That's because we weren't _acting_," Vala replied, looking as incredulous as he felt. "I'll be the first to admit to being an excellent liar, but Daniel here is _terrible_ at it."

"Hey!"

"Just _look_ at him!" the thief continued. "Look into those pretty blue eyes and tell me he's lying to you. Go ahead."

"Pretty?" Daniel coughed.

"Well, not as pretty as mine, but they do well enough."

Balin looked back and forth between them, confusion etching her plain features. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"I've never been more serious in my life," Vala replied firmly.

"Oh, my."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Methinks the dear syntagos has bitten off more than she can chew. Of course, since it's Daniel and Vala involved, they're bound to be a handful anyhow!

//cough// Off to finish writing _tomorrow_'s chapter...


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"That's incredible."

Vala rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest as she slouched in one of the simple but surprisingly soft chairs in the training facility's headquarters. "_Now_ do you believe us?"

The female officer named Balin stared at the analysis of Daniel's and Vala's blood samples, eyes wide with shock. "You really _aren't_ from this planet, are you?"

Daniel exhaled heavily. "No, we're not. We came through the Stargate, which was hidden in a sealed-off cave out in the swamp until a recent earthquake or something opened it."

Balin looked up, brow furrowed. "There was an explosives exercise just a few weeks ago. No one mentioned opening a cave, but no one was required to make a thorough investigation of the blast site afterward." She began looking around her desk frantically. "I need to call the Senate. No, I need to secure the cave _then_ call the Senate. Wait, Strategos Calius _then _the Senate--"

"Secure the 'Gate," Daniel advised, "then notify your chain-of-command. Let _them_ worry about contacting the Senate."

"Oh," she blinked, freezing in place. "You're right."

"He has that tendency," Vala joked. "So... while you're letting the whole-wide world know there really _is _life out there, do you mind if Daniel and I get those showers and meals you promised? I'm cold, damp, miserable, and _starved_."

"Of course," Balin sighed, resting her forehead on her upturned hands. "Lakios Alma, the woman at the desk just outside my door, will be able to assign you quarters while on-site."

"Thank you," Daniel answered. "Are you okay?"

Pausing as she reached for the communication device needed to speak to her secretary, the officer gave a short laugh. "I'm the syntagos in charge of a _training_ facility, so forgive me if I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"I think you're doing a great job," Vala replied, earning a look of amusement from Daniel. "For a syntagos in charge of a training facility," she amended.

Lakios Alma was given instructions as to the care and feeding of the self-professed pirates, but Balin wisely withheld information about their origins. They were then escorted to adjoining rooms with their own private washrooms, and Daniel remarked that the suites must have been built for the training facility's visiting VIPs.

"Very Important Persons," he amended at the look of confusion she gave him.

The doors were closed behind them, Alma promising clean clothing and hot food as she departed. Vala put her hands down on the simple but serviceable dining table and leaned toward her partner. "Okay, Daniel, spill."

"Spill?"

"VIPs? Chain-of-command? Am I missing something or is this another language you speak that I don't?"

He rolled his head back and sighed. "A little of both. Remember how I used to wonder if I was a part of some sort of military organization?"

"Well, we both agreed that was ridiculous." She crossed her arms, cocking her head to one side. "Or at least we agreed that _before_ we found out you were such a handy shot with a gun."

"There's that," he grimaced. "I'm almost certain I _did_ work at least _with_ a military group, if not necessarily _for _one. What I mean is, I wasn't a soldier myself, but they were my friends and co-workers. Balin reminds me a lot of the woman from my, uh, group. She's a lot shorter and a few years older--Balin, that is--but there's still something very... reassuring."

"You mean the sister-figure?"

"Yeah. Her name's just on the tip of my tongue," Daniel replied, glancing around for a place to sit down without getting it dirty. Vala thought it was charming that he'd refused to do the same in Balin's office, too. Finally, the archaeologist just leaned against the wall and slid down it to the floor, elbows propped up on his knees.

"Sam," he said at least, grinning. "Her name's Sam. Samantha. Her dad sometimes calls her Sammy, but she threatened to break my arm if _I _ever tried to call her that again."

Vala laughed. "I think I like this 'Sam'; she sounds like one tough lady. Tell me more."

Daniel's eyes twinkled. "I don't remember a whole great lot, really. She and Jack didn't get along too well at the start, but she and I hit off from the moment we met. Twins separated at birth who finally meet as adults and realize how much they have in common. We finished each others' sentences."

Vala felt a pang of deep sadness for what Daniel had lost. From all she'd heard so far--and she was sure there were more memories she had yet to drag out of him--her partner had made himself a family out of friends and coworkers. Part of her sorrow could be attributed to the knowledge that he'd lost them, but there was now the realization that he'd forged these connections in absence of the real thing. Now that his wife was dead, he didn't _have_ a real family.

It looked like they had _another_ thing in common, though Vala's isolation was partly by choice. Resisting the urge to sigh heavily or scream in frustration--she wasn't sure which--she cast about for a place to sit. Other than the floor, there didn't seem to be anyplace other than the chairs or bed. Giving up, she walked over to the door Alma had indicated led to the adjoining bedroom. Unsurprisingly, it was the mirror image of the room in which she stood.

"If you wanted me to shut up, you could've just said so," Daniel sighed.

Vala pushed the door shut a little harder than she intended. "I was listening! Twins separated at birth, sentence finishing... that sort of thing."

"Which is funny, because that _wasn't _the last thing I said." He frowned up at her. "Are you okay? You seem a little... on edge."

"I'm not on edge, I'm just feeling... a little out of my depth. That's all." She yanked open the door on the back wall and peered into the utilitarian washroom. "There are towels in here already, Daniel. We could shower while we're waiting for food and clean clothes."

She glanced back over her shoulder in time to see him drop his head and shake it. "'Out of your depth'?" he echoed, then gave a little snort of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Vala huffed, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not used to dealing with people who have never met people from other planets."

"It's not that," he grinned. "Well, not entirely, anyway. Do you realize that the only person on this planet who has any experience with first contact situations is an amnesiac who doesn't even know his own last name?"

"We're in _big_ trouble," she declared.

"Could be. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear and convince the local government that we were really only passing through and mean no one here harm. We also need to give them a heads-up on what to expect... out 'there', in case they decide to try experimenting with the 'Gate."

"You really _have_ done this before, haven't you?" Vala marveled, impressed with his quick and steady logic. Gone was the shy young man who'd nervously stepped through the Stargate on Makosis. Up to this point, she'd felt like _she _was their leader, the one who determined their direction and course of action in anything they set out to do. Of course, his intelligence had guided them on more than one occasion, but the decisions had all been hers. Now he was taking the lead, and Vala was surprised to discover she was _okay _with that... maybe even just a slight bit relieved.

"It's what we did, I'm sure of it," Daniel answered, closing his eyes in remembrance. "Me and Jack and Sam... and the big guy, T... T-something. Teal'c."

"You remember them," she breathed, happy for him and yet inexplicably saddened at the same time. "Maybe not everything yet, but... that proves its all still there for you to relearn!"

He pushed off the floor, rising to his feet. "'A man's shadow is clearest when the sun shines, but when darkness falls, is it not still there?'"

"I guess so," she replied, "whatever that's supposed to mean."

"I think it means 'hope'. Even when we can't see hope, it's still there." He smiled, meeting her eyes.

For a long moment, Vala was held in place by the warmth and wisdom in the depths of those wonderful blue pools. She'd long known him to be a man of learning and intelligence, but now she truly realized there was a wealth of knowledge and experience within him that was as-yet untapped. Daniel was a natural-born leader, though he'd surely be the first to say otherwise.

That, of course, was exactly why she wasn't going to say anything just yet. He had this strange habit of thinking the worst of himself, but the best of others. Whoever he really was, whoever he turned out to have been, Vala knew she had finally found someone in whom she could believe, even if he was only just a fellow human. Besides, she'd never put much stock in immortal beings or gods, especially after having been forced to serve as a host to a Goa'uld.

It was faith. A strange kind of faith, of course, but what wasn't strange in her life? If she was going to be _completely _honest with herself, she might as well admit there was also... love. Maybe not the kind of love that gave princes and princesses their happily-ever-afters, but a definite mutual admiration that went beyond the bounds of mere friendship. For now, it was enough.

"You're right," Vala smiled, returning his gaze steadily. "There's always hope."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Aaaaaaaand... just sliding in past the finish line is chapter 22! Seriously, I finished typing this less than five minutes before I posted. TGIF! I need to catch up on writing so that if next week is just as nutty as _this_ week (heaven forbid), I won't be rushing to complete the last chapter before the weekend.

Have a lovely weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A knock at the door interrupted the connection and Daniel tore his eyes away from Vala's, having found himself drawn into the changes going on just behind that stormy gray exterior. Whatever she'd just realized, though, would have to wait. He called out for the person on the other side to come in, reluctantly turning partly away from his partner. The door swung inward, admitting Syntagos Balin and a young man they hadn't met yet. He left the stack of cloth he carried on the corner of the bed, then was dismissed by his commanding officer.

"My superiors were... shocked, to say the least," Balin began. "Actually, they don't really believe either of you are who you say you are despite the results of the _codicus_ analysis."

"To be honest, Balin, it doesn't really matter to either of us if your superiors believe we're aliens," Daniel explained. "The important thing to me and Vala is if we're allowed to _leave_."

"At this point, I have to wait until my superiors arrive. I can't make such a determination on my own." She gave a short laugh. "This would have been so much easier if you _had _been final-year students, you know. You'd have been sent back to your professors and been reprimanded or expelled, I'd have been reprimanded for allowing my security to get lax, and all the phelagi and lakii would have berated their cadets for letting their perimeter get so sloppy."

"That sounds _more_ complicated to me," Vala observed.

"Bureaucracy: the dark side of civilization," Daniel sighed. "That scenario would have been less-difficult because it was one which had solutions already in place. You and I make things more difficult because no one here has ever dealt with what happens when you encounter someone from another planet."

"Problems without paperwork to resolve them beget more paperwork," Balin replied, shaking her head. "I thought you said you'd had your memory erased, Daniel."

"I had," he began, "but I remember more and more each day. I know now, for example, that I used to work for a military organization with its own draconian bureaucracy--another thing that seems to be universal. My friends and I were a team of explorers who travelled through our own Stargate to meet other cultures, learn from them, and trade with them."

"That sounds exciting," the syntagos smiled.

"Well, your people _have _that opportunity now," he replied. "This world and mine don't seem to be very different in terms of technological advancement, though I've certainly never claimed to be an expert on technology."

"You're more advanced than most," Vala chimed in, "but less advanced than others. That means no one is likely to see you as a strong rival, but you are capable of defending yourselves to some extent."

Balin looked thoughtful. "I see. Perhaps it would be best if you share this information with Tarchios Marson, my direct superior. I actually came to tell you that he and his staff will be arriving tomorrow morning, and that Strategos Calius--who reports directly to the Speaker of the Senate--will be here in three days."

Vala sighed. "So much for leaving the planet tomorrow."

Inwardly, Daniel agreed. Although they didn't have anywhere they needed to be right away, the length of their stay had just been down-graded from "undetermined" to "indefinite". For some reason, the thought of so many high-end military officials coming to meet the off-worlders made him uneasy, and he wished he could talk Balin into just letting the two of them leave. Unfortunately, he knew that she was required to keep them in custody, just as it had been her duty to report their presence to her superiors.

Bureaucracy, he decided, sucked. "Thank you for telling us," he said, instead.

Balin turned to open the door when another knock sounded. This time it was their dinner, which the two apron-clad women bearing it quickly set out on the table, then excused themselves. Finally, the syntagos showed them how to operate the intercom system next to the door, explaining that any soldier who answered would be able to contact the housekeeping staff or even Balin herself.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," she smiled, pausing with her hand on the door. "If I know Tarchios Marson, he'll have surrounded himself with petty pencil-pushers who like to ask the same questions over and over again, just so they can look important. Not terribly productive, but as you have already observed, Daniel, it _is_ a bureaucracy. Still, I hope you rest well, and I'll see you in the morning."

In unspoken agreement, they fell upon the food first, Daniel deciding that it didn't really matter if his mostly-dried mud-caked self left dirt on the cushioned chairs since the base had its own cleaning crew. The fare was filling but simple, perhaps even a little on the bland side. Neither he nor Vala was going to complain, though, as the last time they'd eaten had been before they set foot on this planet--twelve hours, by the dark-haired woman's estimation.

At last all the food was gone, and Daniel used the intercom to request the removal of the empty dishes. He then turned around and inspected the surprisingly soft sleeping garments he and Vala had been given. "I hope they don't intend us to wear these _all _the time," he joked weakly, refolding the shirt and trousers.

"They'd cut quite the fashion statement," she responded in kind.

"Maybe we can wash our regular clothes in the shower and leave them out to dry all night. I have a sneaky suspicion we'd never get them back if we handed them over to the local laundry services. That'd be a shame, 'cause I've really gotten attached to this coat."

Vala quirked a grin. "I've really gotten attached to your pants."

Oh, so it was to be one of _those_ conversations. "Thanks to all the mud, they've really gotten attached to _me_."

She strode over and picked up the smaller set of clothes. "I could help you remove them, you know."

"Any excuse to get into my pants?" Daniel sighed inwardly, knowing he'd walked right in to that one.

"Who needs excuses?" Vala replied cheekily. "I mean, if we _really _wanted to, I can think of a few excuses. For example, we could say that in an effort to conserve water, we have to share the shower."

"Is that an invitation?"

"Sounded like one to me. You're not saying 'no', is that a yes?"

Daniel swallowed, not willing to back down this time, though he didn't know why. "That might not be a bad idea. If the hot water heater's not so great, that'd save one of us from a cold shower."

This was her game, but he _was_ learning at the hands of a master. On second thought, perhaps he should make no mention of hands. It was like playing a game of Chicken, he realized. They were two objects on a collision course, waiting for the other to flinch first. If one of them didn't dodge...

"That _would_ be terrible," she agreed, taking a tiny step forward and narrowing their proximity dangerously. Collision was imminent. "Cold showers have a tendency to... dampen enthusiasm."

"Your enthusiasm never seems to suffer," he observed, precariously inching forward himself.

"My enthusiasm has never been in question," she replied saucily, making that final, fatal step forward, the arms holding their respectively clutched garments bumping into one another.

Daniel swallowed heavily, the tension in the air heavy enough to taste. A tiny, traitorous part of his mind was asking him what would be so wrong about saying yes. There was no denying she was an attractive woman, and there was plenty of evidence to support her willingness to... involve herself with him. Hadn't she been trying to seduce him from they met?

No, he realized suddenly, she _hadn't_. She'd been flirting, certainly, but he now knew she had taken it easy on him. She was much, _much_ better at the art of feminine wiles than he'd ever guessed, and could likely make mere mortals such as he fall to their knees in worship of her alluring mystique. Since he was only human, what would be the harm in giving in this time?

Because, said that annoying little practical side of his mind, it wouldn't be for the right reason.

A knock at the door shattered the tension, Daniel turning his head to call the housekeeping staff in to remove the dishes from dinner. When he turned back, the door to the adjoining room was clicking softly shut.

He never tested the water heater's capabilities. From the moment he stepped into the shower, he twisted the faucet's knobs to cold and left them there.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Just for Sorrel Rowan, 'tis a few minutes early! 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

For the thousandth time in the last four hours, Daniel reminded himself that this was a _bad_ idea. He'd been afraid that the people coming to question them--whom Jack would have called the "brass"--were going to separate him and Vala and interrogate them one-on-one. They hadn't, thankfully, but that didn't make it any less of a bad idea.

The first interminable hours had been mainly a re-hash of what Balin had already asked of them: their names, where they were from, and their purpose for being on this planet. They'd answered the first--with Vala omitting her surname in deference to Daniel's inability to recall his own--explained the second to the best of their knowledge, and understated the third. It would have done them little good to admit they were treasure seekers who'd arrived only to locate and loot a long-lost bit of statuary the Hans were sure they could sell for a fair price.

"The blood samples taken to test your _codicus _against our state database were very interesting," began Epstanimos Sadros, the scientist who had arrived with Tarchios Marson's personal staff. "While neither of you had particularly unusual genetics--other than a few markers not found in our population--_your _bloodwork showed a very interesting anomaly, Miss Vala: traces of an element which is very rare on this planet."

"That would be naquadah," Vala replied tightly, "and it's the result of having had a rather insidious parasitic infection. Most who get it don't survive."

Daniel's eyebrows rose at the sharpness of her tone. Although she'd previously talked to him about her possession by the Goa'uld Qetesh, she seemed to be making it very clear to their questioners that she had little to say about her "parasitic infection".

"It's actually not all that terribly rare on other planets," he exaggerated slightly, pulling the attention off her. "Unfortunately, the, uh, parasites in question typically inhabit the worlds where it's most common."

"How many worlds have an abundance?" asked Marson.  
"An abundance?" Vala repeated. "Perhaps a few hundred. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much, though. There are thousands and _thousands _of worlds out there."

"Given the number of symbols on a Stargate, it's possible there are _millions_ of planets. Most in this galaxy are ruled by the dominant society, the Goa'uld," Daniel interrupted. "They're an evil race, one which views the human population as little more than slaves at best, and cattle at worst. Another species, the Jaffa, is used as cannon fodder for their petty wars with one another."

Marson steepled his fingers. "What steps would we need to open trade negotiations with them? We'd want to bargain for metals and other minerals, of course."

"You can't negotiate with them, you can't bargain with them," he answered. "From what I can remember--which, admittedly, isn't much--my own people were at war with the Goa'uld. I don't think we fought them over territory or mining rights or anything like that, I'm pretty sure it was because we wouldn't bow down and worship them as the gods they think they are."

"And given what _I_ know of the Goa'uld, that's a pretty fair guess," Vala agreed.

Another of the tarchios' aides cleared his throat. "You seem to remember a lot for a man with no memory."

"He remembers languages and cultures," she snapped, leaping to his defense. "None of the important things, like where he comes from, or even his real name. That's partly why he and I are exploring so many different planets... we're hoping to jog his memory, or maybe even stumble across his own people."

"But if there are thousands... _millions_ of worlds, that seems to be an exercise in futility."

"Which is why we're still stumbling around," Daniel remarked. "Well, at least we were until we stepped in a mud pit and were rounded up by a bunch of very surprised-looking cadets."

"Cadets who haven't been informed who it was they caught," added Balin, speaking up for the first time. "Based on my own reaction, sir, I don't think we should let the public know about the... Stargate just yet."

"That is my assessment as well," Marson replied, "which is why we'll be moving it to a more secure facility."

"You can't do that!" Vala blurted and Daniel agreed. If the military were to move the Stargate from its present location, they might not ever be permitted to get near it again.

"I can do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of my state," the tarchios answered imperiously. "If that means moving the... Stargate, then so be it."

"Ley lines," Daniel prevaricated. "You can't move the Stargate because... each is always placed on a natural intersection of interstellar ley lines."

"Ley lines?" the third aide questioned.

"Yeah... they're invisible conduits of subspace energy," he continued, throwing a look at Vala to help him. She was _far_ better at spinning fairy tales than he was, after all.

The unspoken communication worked. "Using the Stargate hurtles one along these invisible lines to other planets," she chimed in brightly. "Each of the symbols you enter on the pedestal is another turn along the way. The more symbols, the more turns you have to make."

"You pre-program your destination," he added, getting into the spirit of things. "Of course, there's a built-in failsafe that keeps you from making a wrong turn down a dead end. The, uh, rift doesn't open if that happens."

"Is there a limit to the number of turns?" Marson asked.

"No," Daniel answered.

"Seven," Vala replied simultaneously. Daniel barely managed to suppress his wince, but his partner recovered quickly. "At least that's the longest address I've ever tried."

"My friend Jack got an eight-symbol address to work once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Actually, I guess the limit's got to be nine, since there are nine of those little lights all the way around the circle."

The aides were looking very interested, making the archaeologist grateful he'd chosen to _not_ tell the truth. They seemed far too predatory for his liking. "How do you find these... addresses?"

"Trial and error," he answered, since it was partly true.

"Unless you have a map of the ley lines or a way of detecting them, yes," Vala agreed, taking to the fabrication as readily as he'd hoped she would. "It's hard to know what turns you have to take if you don't know where you're going."

"But you can make guesses," Marson frowned.

"Yes, but it could take a long time." He paused for a moment, an idea forming itself so suddenly he again marveled at the terrible influence Vala had had on his sense of morality--or at least his ability to lie--since they'd met. "Say, for example, we assign a color to each of the symbols on the Stargate. Each color indicates a different direction, as we said, relative to... the center of the galaxy. An address could be something as simple as blue then red, or maybe as complicated as blue, red, white, black, green, gold, and purple. It could even be blue, then red, then red again."

"Why two reds?"

"In case you didn't want to stop at the Stargate at that intersection, but continue down the same ley line to the next one." Mentally, he thanked the little old lady from Gishoral for her fantastic direction-giving abilities.

"Now before you go wondering how _we_ got here," Vala answered, interrupting the next question before it was even vocalized, "we had a written address from some old scrap of parchment Daniel found. We _then_ had to compare our location relative to the center of the galaxy, then calculate the number and direction of turns needed to reach the address."

"That sounds unnecessarily complex," Balin remarked dryly.

"Which is why the most powerful races have spaceships for travel," the dark-haired thief continued. "The Goa'uld, for example, have hundreds, maybe thousands of very advanced interstellar space craft, armed to the teeth with all sorts of deadly weapons in case any of their worshippers should try to rebel against them. Stargates are the only way to travel for poor folk like me and Daniel."

Marson frowned. "I see." His expression and tone indicated otherwise. "You said you are something of an expert on languages and cultures, Mister Daniel."

"I won't claim to be an _expert_, but I do know one or two of the more common ones," he replied, earning himself a bemused look from his partner.

"Perhaps you would like to look at samples of a language our own people have been unable to decipher for hundreds of years."

Sorely tempting though it was, Daniel had no desire to remain a "guest" of this planet and people. Tarchios Marson made him extremely nervous for some unfathomable reason. If Daniel had learned nothing else these past six weeks, it was to trust his instincts, especially when memory failed him--as it often did.

"If it's a language native to this planet, I probably won't be much help," he explained, which was neither true nor false. If the language_ hadn't _originated on this planet--as it most likely had _not_--then it very well could have derived from one of the twenty or so other languages he knew.

"Yet you speak the same language we do," Marson pointed out smugly.

"That's a phenomenon known as the 'common tongue'," Vala answered. "No one has a good explanation for that."

"Although some suspect the ley lines are involved in that, too," Daniel added impishly.

"There may be another way you can help us," began Sadros. "We also ran a comparative analysis of the rate of cellular degeneration. You, Miss Vala, are approximately thirty years old by our estimation of time."

"You know, it _really_ isn't polite to ask a lady her age."

"Of course not. Mister Daniel, we had estimated you to be about the same age, perhaps even as late as mid-thirties, but your test results were... intriguing."

"If I remember correctly, I'm closer to forty," he answered.

"I'd never have guessed," the dark-haired woman remarked, looking mildly surprised.

Sadros smirked. "Then your homeworld has discovered a way of halting the ravages of time, as our results show you to be less than a year old."

"You look astonishingly mature for a man your age," Vala joked.

He coughed. "That's not possible. I may not remember a great deal of my life, but I do know I was born almost forty years ago."

"We tested the samples twice, achieving the same results both times," Sadros replied. "The implications are incredible! If we could find out what has halted the break-down of your _codicus_, it could slow or even halt aging in our own populations, perhaps even--"

"I think you're barking up the wrong tree," he interrupted. "If my planet had discovered the Fountain of Youth, our population levels would be unmanageable. Furthermore, I doubt that one of the friends I remember would have had a head full of gray hair, or that the man to whom we both reported would be _bald_."

Too late, he realized that he shouldn't have been so adamant about defending his apparent versus physical age. Instead of deterring the inquisitive scientist, he was now even more curious than ever. The feelings of unease which had been nagging the back of his mind since the question-and-answer session first began now returned full-force.

"Maybe we should adjourn for the day, Tarchios," Balin suggested, clearing her throat lightly. "We have been questioning them relentlessly for several hours, now, and I'm sure Daniel and Vala are tired and hungry."

Marson scowled, perhaps contemplating if he'd accomplish anything further by continuing to question the aliens. Finally, though, he glanced at the clock on the wall, noted that its digits were now indicating the early evening, and acquiesced. "But I will certainly have far more matters to discuss in the morning," he cautioned.

Once inside his and Vala's quarters, Daniel turned to the syntagos and thanked her profusely for her intervention. "Are these rooms free from..." He gestured to his right eye and ear.

After a moment, Balin understood and nodded. "I intend to keep them that way, too," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Only because you're the only person I feel we can trust right now," he replied. "We can't stay here. I don't know what Marson's mad scientists have in mind for the naquadah in Vala's blood or the unexplainable state of my cellular degeneration--or lack thereof--but it _can't_ be good."

The short woman winced. "Epstanimos Sadros has been Tarchios Marson's top advisor for many years now. Because of my rank, though, I am unable to say what terrible advice the tarchios has been given."

"Of course, you can't," Vala replied, lips quirking. "I suppose you also can't tell us why they were so interested in sources of naquadah."

"Actually, that I cannot because I don't know. I also am unable to tell you that our planet suffers from a severe shortage of metals, which I can't say would be of tremendous interest to those in charge of our government."

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. "So you're saying--or rather _not_ saying--that if Vala and I can negotiate a trade agreement which helps to replenish the limited supply of metals you didn't tell me you have... we might be able to go?"

Balin sighed heavily. "I doubt that will make a difference to Tarchios Marson. I quite imagine he'd rather have our own people plunder the mines of other planets." She shook her head. "I'm afraid I have to leave you for the evening. The cooks should be along with your meal within the next hour. I've sent a private message on to Strategos Calius to request haste, but he will likely not arrive until the morning after the morrow. He is, I believe, a far more reasonable man than Marson."

"Again, thank you," Daniel answered. "I don't suppose there's any chance Vala and I can get our personal effects returned? We have spare clothes in our packs, along with a few other valuables. I have a wood-carving set, for example, that--"

"I can't promise anything," the officer responded with a sad smile, rubbing a hand across her face tiredly. "But I also can't tell you that your belongings are locked in the cabinet across from Lakios Alma's desk. Just in case you feel the need to find your own way home."

"Which you _also _didn't mention," Vala observed.

"Exactly."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Today is the day of the "24"! Chapter 24, which is just over 2400 words, comes the day after news broke that Michael Shanks was offered a recurring role on "24"!

On a terribly, terribly sad note, though, today is ALSO the day the last episode of SG-1 airs in the UK.

//wailing and gnashing of teeth ensues//


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Vala bolted upright, visions of various victims of the cruel Qetesh still flashing at the edges of her consciousness. Memories such as these rarely disturbed her any more, as she had blocked as much as she could of those painful times from her mind. For some reason, vague shadows of memory were dredged up by the questioning she and Daniel had endured at the hands of Marson and his cronies.

Cursing, she leaped out of bed, realizing that not all the moans of distress she was hearing were faded echoes. Daniel lay sprawled in his nest of bedding on the floor in front of the door to the adjoining room. His right hand was tucked behind his head, but the left lay out-flung, twitching convulsively on the scratchy carpet.

It had been his suggestion to share rooms that night, citing a feeling of unease with Balin's superior officer. He'd also insisted on his usual place on the floor, although she tried to persuade him that they were both mature adults who could _surely_ behave themselves. She was going to give him a piece of her mind over it, too, but first she had to wake him.

"Come on, Daniel," she prodded, carefully laying her hands on his shoulders. "I hoped we were done with these nightmares already."

At her gentle shake, he awakened with a gasp. "Vala?" he guessed, unable to see much of anything in the room's near-darkness.

"It's me," she confirmed. "You were having a bad dream again."

Released from her grasp, he sat up. "I'd hoped I was done with those."

She smiled at the echo of her own thoughts. "Remember enough of it to share? Sharing always makes it easier, I say."

He gave a soft snort. "Easier for _whom?" _He shook his head. "Actually, it was several different memories all jumbled together. I don't _think _they were all part of the same thing... no, I'm sure now they weren't."

"Can we take this to the bed?" she asked. "Uh, what I _meant_ was, this carpet isn't exactly comfortable, so can we sit on the edge of the bed, at least?"

"Yeah," he agreed, pushing to his feet. When they were comfortably settled hip-to-hip, he exhaled heavily. "It had to have been one of my team's... missions. We found ourselves on a world in cataclysm, volcanic ash covering everything. We were turning back to leave when I discovered there were people underneath the ash, too."

"Ew."

"They were still alive," he clarified. "We brought them back to our planet. I'm not sure what happened next, but somehow our government--or a division of it, at least--found out that these people were way, _way_ more advanced than we were."

"I think I can see where this is going," Vala remarked. "Considering what we're facing right now, I'm not surprised you're remembering a similar situation."

He nodded, resting his forearms across his thighs and steepling his fingertips. "Unfortunately, this world doesn't seem to have a version of _me_. Jack and Sam couldn't help because they answered to the military and had to follow orders. Teal'c and I were able to help them plan an escape because we weren't military."

"So Balin's in the same situation, isn't she? She can't actually help us because of her orders."

"Exactly."

She shifted. "Okay, so you said it was more than one memory."

"The second one--or at least when I put them in what seems to be chronological order--has the same person who tried to take the... other people. This time it's Teal'c he's interested in. Actually, I think they were _always_ trying to get a hold of a real, live Jaffa, but this time Teal'c had some sort of contagion or something."

"Teal'c's a Jaffa?" she gaped.

"I didn't mention that before?"

"No..." Vala frowned. Where had she heard of a Jaffa named Teal'c? Unable to immediately summon the memory, she set it aside as another remnant of Qetesh. "It doesn't matter anyway. Go on."

"Oh. Um... it's another mission, another planet. They'd never met people from offworld either. Unfortunately, our arrival contradicted their long-held belief that their god created them."

"Must have been a Goa'uld," she reasoned.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We were captured--Sam, Jack, and I--and tossed into little cages where they, uh... tried to get us to give up Teal'c's location and confess to being spies for their religious enemies."

Vala stilled. "They tortured you, didn't they?" She couldn't see his face, only his silhouette. "Daniel?"

"Yes." He snorted quietly. "The worst thing is, it wasn't like they were primitive villagers. They were trained soldiers and more technologically advanced than my own people. They hurt us because we wouldn't tell them what they wanted to hear. And the ironic thing? It was one of their civilians who got us out of there."

"I'm sensing a trend, but I notice a distinct lack of helpful civilians around here."

"Which is why we're just going to have to get out of here on our own. Something tells me that hanging around isn't a good idea, and we probably should've tried to make a break for it tonight, exhausted or not." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Marson can't move us anywhere until Calius gets here. After that, he could probably cart us off wherever he wants and Balin won't be able to do anything to stop him."

She nodded grimly. "We better find out what we can from Balin, tomorrow... _today_, then. We don't really even know how far it is to the 'Gate, what direction, what's between us and... Daniel, we are in over our heads so far, we could tunnel for _months _and still not dig ourselves out of this mess!"

"Yeah... this sucks."

A sudden thought crossed her mind. "You know, usually when I'm in anywhere _near_ this much trouble, I at least it was because I did something really _fun_ first."

Daniel shook his head. "I'll trade your irony for mine. I'm pretty sure everything I've lost--all my memories and knowledge and whatever else--are still in my mind. Unfortunately, getting what I need out of my head seems to be like... like using the research computer at the Hans' library. It's all on-demand." He inhaled sharply. "Every time I need something, it's there. But I have to know I need it before I can access it."

"You've remembered _some _things on your own," she reminded him. "Your friends' names, for example."

"Yeah, but that's more personal stuff. I'm talking about the scope of my experiences... the things I've learned and seen and done. The things that are trained, those are there when I need them, too. I don't _know_ I can speak or read a language until it's put in front of me."

"I'm the same way."

His head jerked up to look at her, though he couldn't possibly make out more than just her shape. "What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath. "Qetesh. I've blocked out most of the things from my time as a host. It thoroughly annoyed the Tok'ra who performed the extraction, because they were hoping I'd be able to give them intelligence on her territories and Baal's and... and who knows what all else."

"Sam was host to a Tok'ra."

Vala did a double-take. "You had a Tok'ra _and_ a Jaffa on your team?"

"_Was_ a host... The symbiote died, leaving her with some pretty unique properties in her blood. Naquadah, of course, but there was something else, too." He snorted again. "You see what I mean about on-demand? Nothing, then _bam!_ There it is. Sam's dad _is_ a Tok'ra."

"Well, in _my_ experience, they're deceitful, traitorous little cowards. The one who removed Qetesh from my body and killed her? He first tried to get me to accept a Tok'ra symbiote so that it could present the façade that Qetesh was alive and well. When I refused, he left me there." Her hands fisted on the coverlet, recalling those first agonizing, confusing weeks. "They incited rebellion on my own damn planet then 'rescued' me from the hands of the people who were taking out hundreds of years of slavery on Qetesh... and me. After I refused to help them, the bastard left me there _again_."

"With the people who'd already tortured you once," Daniel realized. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she replied, choking just a little. "But here we go with irony again... there are a few worlds out there that still think Qetesh is alive and well... because I've never let them realize otherwise."

"Vala..."

"I know. I _know_ it's wrong, and yet I've done it anyway. But since we've wandered way, _way_ off-topic, the point of this whole thing is, there are times when I remember things from my time as a host, and they're usually triggered by something else. So if anyone can understand what you're going through, Daniel, I'd like to think I can."

He was quiet for a long moment, then his questing fingers found hers and gave a gentle squeeze. "I've never thanked you properly for everything you've done for me. Taking me in, helping me out, letting me follow you all across the whole galaxy... Despite our current circumstances, thank you. I really mean it."

"Thank _you_," she replied, laying her free hand across his arm. "I was at one of the lowest points of my illustrious career when I crashed near your little village. Those crystals were the only thing I had to sell, and without you I'd have never gotten the Hans to give me a fair price. Without you, there is no way they would have been interested in employing me. You're turning me into an honest woman!"

He laughed. "Not hardly. You're turning me _dis_honest. I never used to be able to lie."

"'Ley lines'? I have _no_ idea where that came from, but it was a stroke of _genius_."

"On-demand information. I needed something completely logical sounding and yet utterly ridiculous, and I ended up with a wacky archaeological theory from my homeworld. Of course, it had to do with ancient structures and not Stargates, but it worked." He gave her fingers another squeeze, then let go. "Tomorrow's going to be another long day... and tomorrow night even _longer_."

As he stood and made to move back to his pile of blankets, Vala clutched his wrist. "Sleep on the bed."

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor, Vala, forget it."

"Up here _with _me... Really, it's big enough for three of us."

"You're even more adventurous than I thought," he teased.

"Silly. Besides, if you have another nightmare, I won't have as far to go wake you again." She held her breath, wishing she could make out his facial expression in the darkness.

"Okay," he answered at last.

They settled beneath the covers, each carefully sticking to their chosen side of the bed. For a long time, Vala lay watching the ceiling until Daniel's breathing evened out, signaling his own surrender to slumber. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes.

If either dreamed, it didn't disturb the sleep of the other.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Well, "Unending" was pretty much everything I could have hoped for... other than a few more seasons, of course. So in honor of the beautiful, wonderful episode, today's chapter was almost pure fluff!

Don't worry... it won't last.

//evil cackle//


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26  


"So sorry to keep you waiting," Marson apologized, though Vala knew it was insincere. "Where were we again?"

"I'd just asked if we could have a little reciprocal information," Daniel nearly snapped, his temper having worn thin. Vala would have been surprised at his display of impatience were it not for her own irritation. Frankly, she was tired of this game Marson insisted on playing.

"Ah, yes, and I believe I told you that you were in no position to make any demands," the tarchios replied. Thankfully, he'd left his pet scientist and other hangers-on out of this meeting.

"I beg to differ," the younger man argued--and if the tests Marson's cohorts had completed were correct, "younger" was definitely right. Not that Vala believed the tests were right, of course. "You want us to give you information about the rest of the galaxy, about the places we've been and things we've seen, yet we know _nothing_ about this planet. We don't even know what it's _called_, let alone how... how many continents, oceans, or moons it has! For that matter, since we came through the Stargate into the middle of a foggy swamp, we don't even know how many _suns_ you have!"

"You're asking us for information on technology and resources," Vala continued, picking up his thread, "but since we know next to nothing about your own technology and resources, how can we make comparisons?"

"They're not asking for much more than a school child would know, sir," Balin appeased. She'd agreed to meet Daniel and Vala earlier in the morning while they ate their breakfast, but had been understandably leery of giving them more information. Thanks to Daniel's explanation of events, Vala now knew the syntagos was risking her career--and possibly her life--by helping them as much as she already had.

"You're far too sympathetic, _syntagos_," Marson warned, eyes narrowing as he emphasized the woman's lower rank.

"With all respect owed you, sir, they've given us no reason to mistrust them. In fact, they have been nothing but patient, polite, and cooperative up to this point... despite having been chased, imprisoned, and questioned. All things considered, sir, I think they deserve to know a little about the people they're helping."

The dark-haired officer's jaw worked, lips almost curling into a sneer but stopping only just short. "Very well. Answer their questions, syntagos."

"Thank you, sir." Balin laced her fingers and rested her hands on the top of the table. "We call this planet Jaya, and the state I serve is Lacana. The surface of Jaya is nearly four-fifths water, with five main landmasses. Each of these landmasses is a state of its own, though we were at war with two of the states up until--"

Marson cleared his throat. "Syntagos..."

"Sorry, sir." She didn't look any more apologetic than her commanding officer had earlier. "There is but one moon, Artema, and one sun, Apellus. Although the majority of the people live on Jaya's five states, others live on the islands surrounding each state and in the mining colonies on the moon."

"Your moon is habitable?" Daniel asked.

"No, the colonies are underground and artificially regulated."

"That's enough, syntagos," the tarchios announced. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Mister Daniel?"

"Not really," he answered, "but I suppose it's a start. It at least gives me some much-needed insight into your culture, anyway, as well as your need for the Stargate."

"Overpopulation?" Vala guessed, glancing at her partner.

"Probably not or they wouldn't be interested in the secret of eternal youth," Daniel answered, looking Marson directly in the eye as though challenging him. "My guess is that metals are the greatest concern. I mean, it makes sense: the planet is nearly covered in water. Unless you've developed some very ingenious mining methods, anything beneath the ocean's surface is out of reach... which is why you've moved on to your moon."

"You're a very observant man," Marson replied, confirming Daniel's assertions.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm also just a man," he continued, scowling at the tarchios. "I'm an archaeologist and a historian, not a technology expert, and _certainly_ not some kind of 'ageless immortal'."

"And I'm an expert on ancient artifacts and somewhat of an authority on the Goa'uld," Vala supplied, pleased with herself for coming up with a simplified explanation of her own talents. "Now, because we know a lot of people from our travels, we _might_ be able to find someone who knows someone who can set you up with a trade agreement for minerals and metals. I know it's not what you really want to hear, but it is the best we can offer."

"Just what would we trade in return?" Marson scoffed. "Water? Air?"

Daniel frowned. "Technology. Methodology. Most of the worlds out there have primitive agricultural systems which would benefit greatly from more advanced farming techniques. Of greater interest to _you_, perhaps, are the others who need better, safer mining practices. Probably the best things you could offer any of them are healthcare and education, which are virtually unheard-of on most worlds abandoned by the Goa'uld. But unless you want to make yourselves a dangerous enemy, stay away from the planets still ruled by them."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a simple fact," Vala replied. "The Goa'uld think they're _gods_. Anyone who impinges on the domains they claim as their own is a threat to their authority, and they'll take action."

"They'll find us to be a more-than-formidable foe," Marson promised.

"Oh, please!" Daniel laughed in disgust. "Just because you managed to subdue your enemies on two other states makes you think you can defeat a powerful race who will bombard your planet from _orbit_? Hell, they won't even have to do that... all it takes is a big explosive device pitched through your Stargate and _this_ state's history, anyway. Like I said before, I'm no expert in technology, but I _have_ seen enough of your weapons--and that transport that brought us here--to know that you really, _really_ shouldn't mess with those guys."

Vala had never before seen her partner so passionate about anything. He was fighting a losing battle, though, as she could see that the tarchios had as closed a mind as anyone she'd ever met. Perhaps still flush with the glow of victory over their neighbors, he truly believed his people to be invulnerable to the Goa'uld or any other threat out there. The selfish, petty part of her almost wanted to witness his first encounter with a Goa'uld _ha'tak_ and see if he was still convinced of his own superiority. The other, more rational side--the side which had begun to get noisier ever since she first met Daniel--argued that no matter how much of a jerk Marson was, the rest of Jaya probably didn't deserve the same fate.

"Sir, they _are_ the only source of information we have about the--"

"Not another word, syntagos!" Marson snapped. "And you--_you!--_have no right to come to _my _planet and make threats."

"I am not crazy." The odd, flat tone startled Vala. She whipped her head around to stare at Daniel, realizing that while his eyes were open, he actually wasn't looking _at _anything.

"Maybe not, but you _are _a fool to think that Jaya's most powerful state will sit idly by while--"

"Senator, they are coming."

The dark-haired man fumed. "_Tarchios!_ Not some weak-willed, useless excuse for a spineless _senator!_"

"Sir!" Balin protested.

Taking advantage of the sudden chaos, Vala lunged for Daniel's shoulders, hissing his name between her clenched teeth. She gave him a shake, then another one. Amazingly, it worked, snapping him out of wherever his mind had taken him.

He looked around in confusion. "What just happened?"

"I think you had a flashback of some kind," she replied, nearly shouting to be heard over Balin and Marson.

"Of what?"

"You called Marson 'Senator'."

Daniel gave her a wide-eyed look before they both turned to look over her shoulder at the arguing officers. Marson was nearly toe-to-toe with the diminutive Balin, but the woman didn't look the slightest bit cowed by the height he had over her. Instead, she was apparently listing a number of times when Marson had exceeded his authority or defied the governing body of the state. Vala silently cheered her on, then turned her attention back to her companion. He'd never zoned out like that before and that concerned her.

"Did anything else happen in that dream you forgot to tell me about?"

He swallowed heavily. "Other than you being in one of those little cages right next to Jack and Sam? No..."

"You dreamed I was there, too?"

"It was a nightmare, okay? It started as a memory but it got all twisted... and... and I'm not really sure, but there was some kind of kidnapping. _Sam_ was kidnapped, Jack and Teal'c and I went to save her. That guy from the first two memories was also with us, only he was on _our_ side this time. When Teal'c and I got upstairs, you were lying on the floor and--"

"I'll have you arrested, syntagos!"

"Not on _my_ base, sir!" Balin snarled back, not intimidated in the least. "Now, when Strategos Calius gets here, we can all discuss this rationally and come to a conclusion we can all--"

"The only _conclusion_ will be the one where I leave this base with these two in custody!" Marson roared. "The amount in her blood alone is enough mineral to enhance two more warheads, and if we can get more on other worlds, all the better!"

"Excuse me?" Daniel interrupted. "Warheads?"

Balin made a noise of disgust. "We 'defeated' Massona and Dorae when then-_Strategos_ Marson melted an ancient artifact down to create a pair of projectiles. The results were… devastating."

"The results were exactly what we'd hoped for," Marson retorted. "Only the Senate seemed to think--"

"You built naquadah-enhanced _bombs_?" the archaeologist demanded, incredulous.

"We saved _thousands _of lives by stopping the war when we did!"

Beneath her hand, Vala felt Daniel's rigid anger change imperceptibly. She turned her head, witnessing his face taking on a distant expression. "I just wish there was another way."

"Daniel..." she began, squeezing his shoulder gently.

Suddenly, he leapt back from the table, staring at his upturned palms in horror. "_Don't_ touch me!" he pled, arms curling protectively around himself.

"What's going on?" Marson demanded.

"He's having another flashback!" Vala explained hurriedly, though she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the bad dream from the previous night or not. "He's never had these before, not until today."

"--Something called 'ataxia'," Daniel continued in a frighteningly calm voice, still pressed against the back wall of the room. "Surface tissue, brain tissue and internal organs will inflame and degrade… I believe that's called necrosis."

Balin choked. "Blazes, that sounds like what happened to the others!"

"The others?"

The officer nodded, eyes wide. "In the two cities that were hit, the people not killed in the initial blast--"

"--If I don't drown in my own fluids first, I will bleed to death... and there is no medical treatment to prevent that," he finished with a small, pained smile.

Marson slammed a fist on the table. "He's some sort of mind-reader now?"

Vala shook her head, torn between screaming at the tarchios to shut up and just trying to awaken Daniel from whatever hellish world he was in now, babbling to the unseen. She crouched in front of him, tentatively reaching out to stroke the back of her hand down his face, hoping the gentle touch could get through to him since all else had failed. "_Please_, Daniel."

He gave a pained moan, eyes rolling back into his head as he suddenly began convulsing. Shocked, Vala nearly fell over, sweeping an arm out just in time to catch herself. Balin dove in front of her, catching the back of Daniel's head before it slammed into the wall. Yanking him downward, she pressed on his shoulders, holding him on his side.

"Help me!" she shouted at Vala. Before the younger woman could react, Daniel gave one final shudder and went still.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
I _told_ you I was evil. 


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Everything _hurt_. Almost afraid to open his eyes and see the mess his body had become, Daniel lay still for a long moment, willing the air to continue flowing through his damaged lungs. When the breath came easily, his eyes snapped open to confront an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Daniel?"

Startled, he turned to the side, meeting the concerned gaze of an attractive woman with long, black hair framing her face. "Vala?"

"Daniel, I was so worried... are you okay?"

He frowned, taking stock. Other than an all-over burn like he'd been in an intense work-out and hit the proverbial wall, he seemed to be well enough. Cautiously, he lifted a hand in front of his face, marveling at the smooth flesh. "I think so. What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," she replied, grabbing for his hand and clutching it with her own. "One minute, you were yelling at Marson, the next you were on the floor with your back against the wall, talking to no one."

"No one?"

"No one who was present." She stroked the back of his hand. "I think you had some sort of flashback. According to Sarilis, I used to get them every now and again when I first moved in above her shop. She said I would be fine one minute, then be trapped in the past the next."

"Where was I in the past?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Actually, you had _two _flashbacks, but I don't know if they were from the same incident or not."

"Tell me."

"You called Marson 'Senator'."

"That's the title for a particular type of politician," he answered.

"And politicians are... bad?"

He gave a surprised laugh. "Let's just say _you _will never be one, Vala... you're too honest." At her expression of bewilderment, he shook his head. "Okay, so I'll have to think on the first one. What about the second one?"

Letting go of his fingers, she began to fiddle with the edge of the blanket. "Well... first you said you wished there was another way. Then you jumped away from the table and stared at your hands like they didn't even belong to you. You told us all to not touch you, then... Well, like I said, you started talking to people who weren't there."

Daniel frowned, feeling his eyebrows furrow as he did his best to remember. For all his efforts, he found only a blank from the time Marson started his "high and mighty" routine about defending the planet against a threat he'd never even met until waking only moments ago. It troubled him deeply, if only because this was the first and only hole in his memory that was from the time after he'd arrived on Makosis.

"According to Balin, you were describing the symptoms of exposure to naquadah radiation. The worst part is, you were saying them as though _you _were going to be experiencing them." She let go of the bedding and met his eyes, startling him with the moisture hovering just at the corners of her own. "You... It hurt you when I touched you. You shook like you were caught in a prolonged zat blast. If Balin hadn't held you down, you might have hurt yourself."

"I had a seizure," he guessed, "which explains why I hurt all over, anyway. What next?"

"You passed out."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to pull his thoughts together. A thousand questions plagued his mind at any given time, but now he had even more mysteries to add to the pile. Whatever had just happened had clearly frightened Vala, which elevated his own concern. She seemed to know so much about everything at times that it was unnerving to see and hear her so... at loss.

Not to mention the unshed tears and fear, which he never would have expected from her. For all Vala's good humor and outrageous behavior, a part of him had trouble associating her with deeper emotions. It wasn't that he doubted she was capable of them, though, far from it.

He just never expected her to show them for _him_.

Sam, though... Sam had once cried for him, expressing regret for never having told him how much she cared for him. How much she regretted having helped him to neglect their friendship. Her pain had been a mirror for his physical injuries, mourning the time they'd wasted just as she mourned--

He shot upright, the sudden motion startling Vala into eliciting a muffled squeak of surprise. Swearing under his breath, he stared at hands that shifted from healthy to covered in bloody sores and back again before he could even blink.

"Daniel..."

"I was dying. Vala, I... I didn't... my friends, I... I was _dying_." He clenched his fingers into fists, fighting the ghosts of pain which plagued him anew and robbed him of his ability to think clearly. "It hurts..."

His trembling was stilled a moment later when she stood and carefully wrapped an arm around his back, chin resting atop his head. "It's all in the past, Daniel," she crooned, stroking his hair with her free hand.

Closing his eyes, he let himself revel in this moment of surprising tenderness. When he finally felt his turmoil ease enough, he reached up and gave her shoulder a careful squeeze. "Thank you for being here."

"Where else would I be, silly?" she teased, letting him go. "Whatever it was that happened to you, you're fine now. Your friends must have found a way to heal you."

Daniel wasn't sure of that. He was certain there had been attempts to heal him, but the success of each endeavor was difficult to determine. He was pretty sure Sam had tried to operate one of the Goa'uld healing stones like what Vala had used to heal his leg only a few weeks before, but for some reason--

"Daniel! Don't do this again," Vala ordered, suddenly in front of him and cupping either side of his jaw with her hands.

He blinked, wondering how she'd moved so quickly. "Do what?"

"You zoned out on me again," she answered, slumping in her chair again. "Who's Jacob?"

"Sam's dad."

"The Tok'ra?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You told me--or someone--to tell him to stop."

Sighing, Daniel rubbed his temples in frustration. "I don't know, Vala." Swiping at his eyes, he looked around the room, noting for the first time that he was in what appeared to be a medical ward of some kind, but he and Vala seemed to be alone. "Where's Balin?"

"Under house arrest," his partner admitted, grimacing. "Marson was somehow able to uphold his authority over her, but neither of them is allowed to leave until the strategos gets here." She crossed her arms. "I'm worried Balin might have gone too far."

"How so?"

"Well, she tore into Marson after your first flashback. Apparently, he was responsible for enhancing some of their deadliest projectile weapons with naquadah he got from melting two rare artifacts--probably the statues we came here to find, ironically. He then launched one at each of their rival states."

Daniel swallowed heavily. "But that would have--"

"Done a lot of damage? Yes, and the people who didn't die in the blast... well, let's say I think you're familiar with what their symptoms were."

He frowned. "And the government of... Lacana... They didn't have a problem with that?"

Vala shook her head. "Oh, they _did_, but apparently he was very careful and never actually broke any 'rules of engagement'--whatever that means--by his actions. The only thing they could pin on him was exceeding his authority, which was enough to demote him from strategos to tarchios." She lifted her chin. "Personally, I think he should have been _shot_."

"Me too," he agreed. "Out of curiosity... did they leave us locked in the infirmary?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, I'm thinking we should probably get out of here now."

Her jaw dropped. "Daniel, you've been unconscious for four _hours!_"

"I should be well-rested then, right?" Carefully, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pleased to see that he was still wearing his own clothes. He shifted his weight to his feet, then slowly pulled himself upright. "See? I'm fine."

Fortunately, she was able to catch him when his first step proved to be less steady than he expected. "Sure, you are."

"I'll have to be," he corrected, regaining his balance. After pulling on his boots, he walked over to open the first door he came to, frowning when it revealed only a closet full of linens and other supplies.

Vala smirked at him. "It's over here," she answered, walking over to a different door. To his astonishment, she began fumbling with her bodice, plunging her hand down her neckline and drawing out a small set of metal picks. Grinning at her companion, she fiddled with the lock on the door for a moment, then turned the handle easily. Easing the door open a crack to peer out into the hall. "Looks clear."

Amazed at her resourcefulness, Daniel quickly grabbed a few of the blankets, bandages, and some of the medications whose purpose he recognized, stuffing the lot into a drawstring bag that was probably intended to hold dirty laundry. Tucking the sack beneath his arm, he stepped up to the door leading out of the infirmary. "I can't believe it's that easy."

"Picking that lock might not have been simple for just _anyone_," Vala whispered back, glancing down another empty hallway before crossing to another door. It was unlocked and opened to reveal a stairwell. Carefully placing their steps to reduce the echoes, the pair hastened down two flights, Daniel translating the signs next to the doors until they came to the floor which held Balin's office. Their belongings were in the cabinet across from her assistant's desk, just as the syntagos promised. Shouldering their bags, the treasure hunters returned to the stairwell.

"Maybe we should try to get one of those shuttles from the vehicle bay," Daniel suggested. "Do you think you can fly it?"

"Darling, I can fly _anything_," she promised jauntily.

Daniel frowned. "The only thing that bothers me is the lack of guards. Even at night, there should be people patrolling the halls. I'm worried that we're walking into a trap."

Vala shrugged. "Why allow us to escape in the first place if they're only waiting to catch us again?"

"I can think of a reason," he began, licking his lower lip nervously. "If Marson catches us trying to escape, he gets around his obligation to keep us here until Strategos Calius arrives. He could have us carted off to wherever he wants while everyone else searches for us in the swamps."

"So what do you suggest, then?"

He closed his eyes, then shook his head. "We have to try for a transport. If they find out we've gotten away before we get back to the 'Gate, we'll have a much bigger welcoming committee than what we'd meet otherwise."

"They probably won't expect the zats," Vala pointed out, hefting her own weapon for emphasis. "We can shoot anyone we need to without worrying about accidentally killing anyone. They'll have to be a lot more careful."

"They don't need us _alive_, Vala. All Marson is interested in is my DNA and the naquadah in your blood." Daniel hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he somehow knew the kind of man Marson was, had previously met others like him. "For that matter, he could have us killed trying to escape and get what he wants that way."

The dark-haired thief swallowed heavily, reaching out a hand to briefly squeeze his arm. "We have to try anyway, Daniel. You know that."

Sighing, he nodded again. Between her sense of direction and his quick translations of the wall plaques in the corridors, they were soon at the double-doors leading out to the vehicle hangar. A smaller shuttle than the one in which they'd first arrived was parked nearby, and they moved cautiously toward it, weapons at the ready. Daniel motioned for Vala to hang back to cover him while he checked the interior of the ship. Just as he was reaching for the control he assumed opened the cockpit door, the seals released. He jumped back, nervously waiting for whoever had activated the hatch to appear.

Phelagos Nivene smiled sheepishly. "Oh, look. I had just programmed my shuttle to head back to Camp Malkin Beta when you surprised and over-powered me."

Daniel gaped. "Did Balin--"

"The syntagos did not ask me to help. Nor did I tell you that she didn't."

Vala stepped up next to Daniel, grinning broadly. "Of _course_ she didn't."

Nivene's expression flattened to his customary stoicism. "Just do me a favor and try not to give me a concussion. I want it to look like I put up a fight, yes, but I'm not _that_ vain."

"Oh, we have a better idea," the thief grinned, aiming her zat and squeezing the trigger.

Daniel blinked as Nivene crumpled to the floor. "You didn't even _hesitate_," he noted.

"I've been wanting to shoot someone for _days_," she replied, stepping over the phelagos' unconscious body. Climbing into the shuttle and settling behind the control console, she took a moment to familiarize herself with the panel. "I think I have it."

He grabbed the handle on the hatch and wrenched it into place, then sat down in the cockpit's other chair. Although it seemed to be an impressive array of buttons, switches, dials, and screens, he noted that all were labeled clearly. "Vala, I thought you couldn't read Tethysian."

"I can't," she grinned, flicking a switch and bringing up the power. "If I've learned nothing else these last several years, though, it's that all the descendants of the First World are incredibly _lacking_ in imagination." Reaching across the panel to press a series of buttons, she looked over her shoulder as the engines began to whine. "Believe you me, I have _never_ been more grateful."

"Amen," he agreed.

Moments later, their stolen shuttle lifted into the night air and followed its programmed path back to the training camp in the swamp.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
With this chapter, "Honor Amongst Thieves" now becomes my longest Stargate story to date in terms of number of chapters. In number of _words_, it has long-since passed all others. 

Today's installment comes a few hours early because I have a St. Paddy's Day party to attend this evening. See you Monday!


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Ugh. This place is just as nasty as the _first_ time around," Vala griped, glaring at the wet ground squelching beneath her feet.

"Imagine that," Daniel remarked dryly. "Come on, Vala, you _know_ we couldn't have landed the ship any closer to the 'Gate. We'd have been sitting ducks trying to get out the door."

"I know, I know," she sighed, giving the dark mud a final, baleful look. The clearing around the cave containing the Stargate had been brightly lit with floodlights, indicating the presence of the guard Balin had had to place around the device. The feeling that they were wasting valuable time chafed, especially knowing that Marson likely knew of their escape by now. Nivene wouldn't have stayed unconscious from the zat's effects for long, and would therefore have been required to report their escape upon awakening.

Unfortunately, they didn't know if the syntagos had been able to work her mutineering magic on the soldiers watching the cave. It was her partner's lack of conviction on the matter that sealed the argument for Vala. She hadn't gotten where she was in life by being a trusting soul, but Daniel had gotten under her skin in a way no one else ever had.

She spared a glance out of the corner of her eye for her companion, noting that he was moving along as easily as ever, as though none of the day's "events" had any effect on him. For all his insistence that she was "corrupting" him, he remained a decent and trusting man at his core, and she found herself instinctively reciprocating that trust. The more he remembered about his past, the more confusing the picture of who had once been became to them both. Still, she had always trusted her instincts, and those were telling her that all would be well in the end.

Funny, since she hadn't gotten where she was by being an optimist, either. It seemed he was a far stronger influence on _her_ than she was on him. She glanced over her shoulder at her partner, her smile fading as she noticed his hands held oddly in front of him, as though bound.

"Okay," he began suddenly, panting for breath. She spun around, grabbing for his hands just as he stumbled. "I know it seems completely unlikely that you understand a word that I'm saying but, uh... I've gone about as far as I can go at this particular pace… so with your permission... I think I'm going to fall down now!"

And fall down he did, knees buckling and bringing him crashing into the mud as though at the very limits of exhaustion. She tried shaking his shoulders, calling his name, but none of it brought him back from wherever his mind took him this time. Finally, when he began ranting about a "radio", she sent up a quick plea for forgiveness and slapped him as hard as she could.

"What the hell was _that_ for?" he complained.

Vala inhaled deeply, raising her chin. "Getting you out of another of those flashbacks."

He blinked, looking around at the fog-shrouded trees. "Ooo-okay," he drew out, shaking his head. "Where was I _this_ time, besides taking a _siesta_ in the middle of a swamp?"

She hadn't any idea what a "siesta" was, but if it had anything to do with him taking an unexpected tumble to the ground, it was appropriate. Knowing his clothes would soon be soaked, she pulled him to his feet. "You acted as though we were moving too quickly for you to keep up, and asked my--or someone's permission--before you fell."

Daniel sighed. "This just gets weirder and weirder all the time. What could be causing them?"

She threw up her hands in frustration. "Like I know? One minute you're fine, the next you're off somewhere else. I'm thinking your imaginary friend had the right idea and I should just tie you up and drag you along with me."

"'Tie me up'?" he repeated, eyebrows rising in surprise. "Okay, I don't _want_ to know where I just was."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," she remarked, moving around to his pack and digging out one of the foamy-feeling blankets from the raided supply cabinet. After cutting it into several strips and stowing the remainder away, she quickly tied a loop of cloth around each of their waists and connected the crude belts with a third piece about five feet in length.

They picked up their pace, then, trusting their tether to help him follow her easily even with his weaker eyesight. Vala felt more confident, too, knowing that if he were to have another of his episodes, she wouldn't have to worry about him falling behind and her not noticing.

She had almost dared to believe they would make it. Just as the lights illuminating the clearing began to shine through the trees, the sudden tug at her waist nearly yanked her off her feet. She managed to convert the recoil of the stretchy fabric into momentum to spin her back around to face her companion, who was now staring at the ground at his feet and insisting they needed to help someone named "Melosha".

"We do _not_ have time for this!" Vala hissed, hauling back to slap him again. The blow connected just as he was straightening up from a crouched position, and though she could have _sworn_ she hadn't hit him hard, he spun around and fell with a startled cry.

"Teal'c!"

"No, no, _no!_" she spat, dropping to her knees and shaking his shoulders, patting his cheeks, and doing everything she could think of to return him to consciousness.

"Over here!" shouted an unfamiliar voice, the sounds of the 'Gate's guards crashing through the undergrowth meeting her ears.

For a brief moment, she considered untying the cord binding her to Daniel and using his discovery as a distraction to make her own made dash for freedom, but dismissed that plan immediately. Bitter tears stung her eyes. Freedom for herself would mean nothing if she betrayed Daniel to gain it.

"We're here!" she shouted, digging into her pack for her handlight and activating the beam to serve as a beacon. "My friend needs help!"

Within moments, they were surrounded, and she blinked through the moisture to attempt to discern any familiar faces. They weren't the young, anxious expressions of the cadets who trained in this area, and her heart sank at the realization that these may not have been guardians set by Balin. Marson would have his victory it seemed, but at least Vala knew she had managed to adhere to the trust Daniel placed in her. She felt an irrational sense of pride in her accomplishment, which was immediately chased by a feeling of dread.

"My friend is sick," she told the soldiers, uncertain whether it would make any difference to them or not. "We just want to go _home_. Help me carry him. _Please_."

"I'm sorry, Miss," one of the men began, lowering his weapon just a fraction. "We have our orders."

The traitorous moisture now trailed down Vala's cheeks. "Damn your orders! Marson doesn't see us as people, only as science experiments so that he can build more weapons and make himself and people like him live forever! Just get us to that ring and we'll be gone and never bother this world again." She stroked a hand down Daniel's slack face. "Better yet, let me send him back through the Stargate and I'll stay here. I'll tell you everything you want to know about the--"

"I'm sorry," the man repeated, jerking his head at his fellow troops. She struggled when she felt them pull her away from Daniel, kicking and punching like a madwoman, refusing to go down easily. When one of them produced a knife and sliced through the line connecting her to her fallen partner, her knees buckled. Silently crying, she watched as the men lifted her friend with surprising gentleness before staggering to her feet and trailing along behind, numb.

They emerged into the clearing, the brightness of the camp lights stunning her momentarily, blending with the surrealism of the near-escape to further her disorientation. It finally occurred to her that the level of care the soldiers were giving them could be indicative of their allegiance to Balin, and for a moment she dared to hope.

Her hopes were dashed moments later when she was ushered into a small, pre-fabricated shelter and Daniel's stretcher placed on the groundsheet beside the door. They were then sealed in, prisoners once more. Collapsing beside her partner, she threw her arm across his chest, laid her head on his shoulder, and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whoops, sorry about the delay on this one, folks! Nothing like being nearly a thousand words into your new chapter when your PDA decides to acquire the services of a gremlin and LOSE everything you just wrote. Trying to reconstruct your work later never produces the same results, either. //sigh// 

Oh, well. Beginning to hate these flashbacks, aren't ya? Vala sure is... But don't worry, I'll get them off this planet soon. I thought I would _today_, but this story had other ideas.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"In here, sir."

Vala's eyes snapped open as a shaft of light crossed her face from the open door. When the source of light was revealed to be a lantern carried by another of the heavily armed soldiers, she rolled to her feet in a guarded crouch, attempting to place herself between the newcomers and the still-unconscious form of her friend. The woman made no move toward her or Daniel, instead carefully hanging her light from one of the thin ceiling beams and taking up position in the far corner. As Vala looked on warily, two men entered the enclosure, closing the door behind them.

The first man was several years older than either of his companions, dark hair showing glints of steely gray beneath the harsh lighting of the lamp. Like Balin and Marson, his shoulders and chest were decorated with shiny bits of metal, indicating his status as an officer, and a high-ranking one at that.

"How is your friend?" he began, pulling a chair out from beneath the table against the far wall.

"Sick," Vala answered simply, eyes flitting to Daniel's pale, slackened face.

The man leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. "How did he become ill?"

She sighed wearily, too tired to fight and too emotionally exhausted to lie. "Several months ago, he appeared in the middle of a field on a farm planet with no memory of who he was or where he came from. He stayed there until the two of us met--nearly two months ago--when he agreed to travel with me to other worlds in the vain hope that we might one day find his people or his past. He has always suffered from nightmares, but only today--yesterday, rather--began experiencing flashbacks. I don't know if it's something on this planet causing them, the... the stress of this whole situation gone _horribly_ wrong, or if it's simply a natural step in the gradual return of his memory." She bit her lip, settling cross-legged on the ground and stroking a hand through Daniel's hair. "I don't know, and I _don't care_. I just want him safe."

"I see," the man answered. "Please forgive my lack of manners. I am Strategos Calius, Polimarkos of Lacana."

"Vala Mal Doran. This is Daniel... well, just Daniel for now."

Calius nodded. "The two of you have a staunch supporter in Syntagos Balin. She seems to believe the two of you would be of greater help to our world if we simply let you leave."

"Daniel has that effect on people. He makes them trust him even when they really have no reason to," she smiled sadly.

"Tarchios Marson has a different story," the strategos continued.

"I'm sure he does."

"He seems to believe it would be better to keep you here, learn from you and study the differences between your people and ours."

Vala sneered. "Marson just wants to filter all the naquadah out of my blood and use it to create more weapons like the ones he used on your enemies. He wants to learn the secrets of immortality and thinks that Daniel's the key to _that_."

"Is he?"

She heaved a sigh. "He remembers dying of radiation poisoning, like what happened to the people who survived those two weapons only to sicken and die later. He doesn't recall being healed, yet here he is."

"So you are saying that you don't know."

"No, I _don't_ know!" she snapped. "Look, we know that your world has nearly depleted your available minerals, that metals have become increasingly scarce _especially_ after who-knows-how-many years of war. Daniel and I work for a man named Han Kazo, who is one of the few people in the galaxy permitted by the ruling body of System Lords to establish trade relations with the worlds ruled by various rival factions. I can't guarantee anything, but we can at least _try_ to arrange a meeting between your people and the Hans. Compared to most of the worlds out there, your machines and medicines are quite advanced, and would make valuable trade commodities."

Calius leaned back in his chair. "You would have us to engage in barter for what we need? Why, when we can just take what we want?"

Her hands fisted. "Because you stand a chance of angering people who actually have the right to the ores you are stealing. Because Daniel and I won't tell you how to use the Stargate so you'll be lucky to hit on the right combination of symbols to get you to another planet. Even if you _do_ find your way to another world, a different set of symbols is required to get you back... and good luck figuring out the exact combination for _that_ on your own, too."

"And?" he prompted.

"Everyone needs a friend. Even at some of the lowest, most dreadful times in my life, I've always had one or two people on whom I could rely. Since Daniel came into my life, I've had someone whom I respect and care for at my side nearly _all_ the time. He's made me realize that no matter how brave and self-sufficient I think I am, it's always better to split the workload and share the profit than to be greedy and selfish and all alone."

Calius seemed to think on this for a long moment, gazing contemplatively at the pair. Unable to keep eye-contact, Vala resumed her ministrations, stroking the fine strands of dark blond hair and taking in the open, guileless expression of the unconscious man before her. Never before had he looked so vulnerable, so completely helpless. In the last six weeks, he had proven his value time and time again, his innate brilliance solving some ancient mystery, his unwavering courage saving them both in the face of crisis.

It was time she returned the favor. "Look, I'll stay here and provide you with whatever information you require if you'll just allow me to send him through the Stargate to people who can care for him."

"You are afraid for him? His condition frightens you?"

"Yes. Daniel is normally a very strong man, both in mind and body."

"You would sacrifice yourself for him?"

"To save him? Yes."

"You love him."

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

The strategos leaned forward in his chair once more. "People do the most terrible things in the name of hate, yet they also do the most amazing things for love. I do not understand what Tarchios Marson meant when he said you were alien to us. Your people and mine are not so very different at all."

Vala felt her heart flutter. "You'll let him go?"

"I'll let _you_ go," he corrected, then amended, "both of you. Our own race has cursed our planet, and I'll have no part in dooming two people innocent of our crimes. If you can speak with your master and convince him of our need, you would have the thanks of a grateful state, a thankful planet. Do not feel obligated, however, as you owe us nothing. _Nothing._ We have imprisoned and threatened you and may have even inadvertently caused or worsened the condition of your friend. For that, you have my most humble apologies."

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, Vala stammered out a thanks, placing her hands in her lap and lacing her fingers. "What will happen to Syntagos Balin?"

"She will be reprimanded for insubordination against Tarchios Marson." Calius' voice changed, suddenly bordering on amusement. "She did not, as I understand it, help you in anyway." At Vala's look of surprise, he gave a conspiratorial wink. "I know the ways of one of my best students, Miss Vala. She knows the game as well as any and will maintain that she did not disobey her orders or oath in any way, that mere chance had the base guards seeing to a minor crisis on the other side of the complex last night and that bad fortune put Phelagos Nivene in your path."

"And since she didn't tell us where to find our belongings, we were simply lucky to find those as quickly as we did," Vala agreed. "Strategos, you are not at all what I expected for..." She stalled, trying to come up with the appropriate word.

"For a man in my position of power?" he suggested. "Quite so. My many critics say I am too soft to be the Polimarkos, that the leader of the armies of Lacana should be a firmer man. The Speaker of the Senate and I disagree with such assertions. Perhaps, in answer to these complaints, I should bend a little more. I think your Daniel understands this."

"My Daniel," she smiled, liking the way that sounded coming from her lips. "Thank you, Strategos. Da... _my_ Daniel thanks you as well."

The older man returned the expression, motioning for his two guards to step up to either side of the stretcher. He opened and held the door leading out of the shelter so that the soldiers could maneuver the litter back outside and into the early morning air. Interested eyes followed their trek across the clearing to the cave entrance, the fallen boulders having been cleared away from the hole in the cliff-face.

As they stepped into the cool darkness of the cavern, Vala self-consciously cleared her throat. "You know, Daniel and I were blowing smoke about the way the Stargate worked."

"I know," Calius answered. "I have seen the recordings taken of your questioning and discovered a fatal flaw in your, ah... 'ley line' theory. The rotation of our planet on its axis and its revolution around our sun are both very strong arguments against the supposed inflexibility of these lines."

She nodded sheepishly. "You _can_ move your Stargate and its accompanying pedestal to a more secure location," she admitted.

"Which we will begin to do when you two have safely passed through it," he assured her.

Vala stepped up to the pedestal and briefly searched her mind for the coordinates of an uninhabited and relatively mineral-poor planet she'd once stumbled across in her misspent youth, unwilling to trust the locals to not attempt to follow them. When the Stargate activated, shedding its blue radiance upon the walls of the cavern and the awestruck on-lookers, she knelt beside Daniel and gently tapped his cheek.

A bleary eye the color of the event horizon peeked at her. "Let's go," she offered with a smile, carefully pulling him to his feet and draping his arm across her shoulders to help him stagger the dozen steps to the Stargate. She turned back just before the shimmering pool, waved farewell, then stepped into the waiting wormhole.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
YAY!!! We're finally off this planet! 


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Oh, for cryin' out loud."

Jonas Quinn tried his absolute best to not sigh in frustration, but he _did_ give his team leader a look of exasperation. "Thank you for your time," he smiled to the village headman. "Excuse us for a moment, please."

Just as the Kelownan thought, O'Neill barely waited until they were outside of the small dwelling before complaining, "If they didn't want to set up a trade agreement, they could've just said so!"

"Actually, he _did _say so, Colonel," Jonas replied. "They already have an exchange established with a group of traders who come through the Stargate three times a year. They're here _now _even, which is a good thing, really."

"How's that?"

"Well, according to the headman, the caravans are owned by a family which has similar trade agreements with hundreds of other planets. It might be that the people we really want to talk to are the Hans, make a treaty with them."

"I thought the Huns were the ones who crossed the Alps."

Jonas suppressed a grin, shaking his head. "Oh, they were. But this is the _Han_ family, like the Han Dynasty that ruled China from around 200 B.C. until about 200 A.D."

"Ah!" O'Neill exclaimed, as though that explained everything. It had taken Jonas a long time to realize that the colonel really wasn't even half as dumb as he pretended to be, but that he simply didn't care for detail which didn't immediately pertain to the matter at hand. It was a habit hard to break after years of reporting directly to academic and government officials, though.

They soon met up with Major Carter and Teal'c, who had been taking a tour of the village's perimeter while Jonas and the colonel spoke with the headman. The pretty major seemed to be excited about something, so when the team rejoined, she nearly burst with joy.

"One of the people we met outside the wall was repairing the stone bridge across the river," she began. "One of the tools he was using to cut the blocks was a trinium-edged saw!"

"I thought the mineral survey didn't come up with any of that stuff," O'Neill replied.

"It didn't," she agreed, "which is why Teal'c and I asked the man where he got it. He said that he and his wife saved up for months to buy it from the traders who pass through here from the Stargate."

"Yeah. Our pal, the head village guy, told us about them already." O'Neill looked mildly put out. "As long as they have a trade agreement with these guys, the locals aren't interested in anything we have to offer."

"They are representatives of the Han family," Teal'c announced, "one of the few trade organizations permitted to conduct commerce between worlds belonging to varying System Lords."

"You've heard of them?" Jonas asked.

"Indeed. Though Apophis did not permit their presence on his world, I recall their visits to the villages under Cronus' domain when I was a small boy."

"That could be pretty useful," he replied, drawing looks from the rest of his team. "Think about it: an organization like the Han family would have access to hundreds of worlds across the galaxy. If we talk to these guys, we could potentially have trade access to planets that are entirely out of our reach. Indirectly, of course, but it's still something."

Carter tipped her head to one side. "That's actually a _really_ good idea."

"What, going through a middle man?" O'Neill asked.

"Essentially, yes," Jonas agreed. "It's really not much different than... shopping at the mall on Earth."

"You shop at the _mall?_"

He wasn't _about _to admit that he'd actually enjoyed going shopping with Major Carter and Doctor Frasier on a few occasions, as he was certain the colonel wouldn't understand. "What I mean is, the stores there are the intermediary between the shopper and the manufacturer."

"A supply chain," Teal'c suggested.

"Exactly!"

O'Neill seemed to consider this for a long moment before shrugging. "Let's go see if these guys want to be our Wal-Mart."

"Wal-Mart?" Carter mouthed, shaking her head. Jonas met her gaze and offered a grin of amusement.

The team made their way over to the brightly-colored tents tucked against the wall just inside the town's gates, Jonas curious to see what sorts of marvels such a widely-known group of traders had to offer. It never ceased to amaze him the many wondrous and strange things the galaxy held, even though he'd been a member of the team for just a few weeks shy of a year. The three continents of his homeworld were so boring and small by comparison.

To his astonishment, the tents were devoid of any overt signs of technology, as though the travellers were deliberately making themselves appear on the same level as their customers. Perhaps, he wondered, they weren't much more advanced anyway, as they still operated under the rule of the Goa'uld. Either way, he had plenty of questions to ask and couldn't wait to begin.

A guard standing near the entrance of one of the tents turned and announced their approach to the interior of their structure, making Jonas' mind leap to try to catch up with the familiar-sounding language. When a man emerged from the shadows, rattling off instructions, he realized they spoke a variant of a language with which he'd only recently tried to become familiar: Cantonese.

When the Stargate program was revealed to the other major members of Earth's United Nations Security Council, Jonas had begun studying the history, language, and culture of each of the powers out of pure curiosity. His homeworld held only three major governments, after all, with the differences in their societies having diverged only a few hundred years before now. China and Russia had particularly intrigued him, if only because of the similarity between Earth's Cold War and the war which his own people faced.

"_Greetings_," he offered cautiously, hoping he had the wording right and fervently wishing he had one of the linguistic field guides Doctor Jackson had compiled. "_My name is Jonas Quinn. We come seeking knowledge and trade._"

"You come seeking to the right place," the man replied, hooking his thumbs into his wide belt. "My name is Liu Shao, and I speak for the Han family."

"May we have verification of such?" Teal'c asked suddenly.

"Of course, Master," Liu answered, removing an amulet from beneath his silk tunic and presenting it to the Jaffa. Teal'c studied it only briefly before returning the item to the trader. "What brings the First Prime of Apophis to my door?"

"We're explorers from a planet called Earth," Jonas explained, making a mental note to ask his fellow alien about the amulet later. "We actually came to establish a trade agreement with the people of this world, but were told that your people have an extensive network already in place."

Shao offered his arm to guide them into the tent and waited until they were seated on cushions around the low table before replying. "Apophis was not known for permitting our caravans on his worlds. We must first know the System Lord who rules your planet."

O'Neill snorted. "There isn't one."

"We serve no false god," Teal'c continued. "As you are no doubt aware, my companions are warriors of the Tau'ri."

The trader smiled. "Of course, Master... Teal'c, isn't it? And as I am sure _you_ understand, the position of the Han family is tenuous at best. We must maintain neutrality."

"We're not asking you to side with us against the Goa'uld," Jonas back-pedalled. "We seek medicines, technology, and minerals, however, and are interested in the opportunity an organization such as yours presents us. You can trade with worlds we can't even set foot on without putting ourselves in jeopardy."

"How very true. Still, trade with the Hans usually means opening your world to allow us to freely offer our goods and services to the people of your planet. I did not believe the Tau'ri were willing to do so."

"No, but we could make other arrangements," Carter suggested. "We could come to _you_, maybe, or meet on a neutral planet to make the trades."

"What then, do you offer?" Shao asked, resting his chin on his hands.

"Food, medicine, the usual stuff," O'Neill replied non-chalantly. "Obviously, my team and I aren't authorized to make or break the deal with you here and now, but we just want to find out if it's possible."

"And what of knowledge? You stated you came seeking _knowledge_ and trade."

"What types of knowledge are we talking about?" the colonel asked. "Intelligence, history, what?"

Shao bowed his head, smile still firmly pasted in place. "All these and more. Please understand that intelligence is not secured, that any information you wish to purchase from us is not guaranteed to _not _be sold to the next person who asks. It is likewise with anything you tell us of yourselves. Our neutrality is paramount."

"Of course it is."

"Still, we do offer this capability. We also recently acquired the services of two very gifted collectors, so should you have need of a particular ancient artifact recovered or mystery solved, we can provide there as well. Because of the state of your conflict with the System Lords, however, I will also need to consult my superiors. We will contact you through the Tok'ra with the location and time when we can next meet."

"Don't call us, we'll call you?" O'Neill guessed. "Well, thanks a bunch for your time. Let's head back, kids." Once outside, he muttered under his breath, "Complete waste of time."

"Not necessarily, sir," Carter answered. "Liu Shao didn't exactly tell us to go away, and he seemed pretty confident an arrangement with us would work."

"Yeah. Work for _them_."

Jonas frowned. "I wonder if we could enlist the help of their 'collectors' in finding the Lost City."

"Well, _that's_ a bad idea," the colonel retorted. "Some Goa'uld will ask these guys why the Tau'ri have been so quiet lately and Mr. Neutrality there will tell them we're looking for an Ancient storehouse of weapons. I'll pass."

"Then perhaps we could request their assistance in looking for Daniel Jackson," Teal'c suggested.

O'Neill spun around in frustration. "No! That's as bad an idea as the one Jonas had. What do you think will happen if Anubis knows Daniel is alive? That he's out there somewhere?"

Unable to come up with any scenarios which ended well for SG-1 or Doctor Jackson, Jonas sighed and nodded in defeat. Still, he couldn't shake the niggling feeling that Liu Shao had been laughing at them all.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whoops! Took a nap after I got home from work and overslept my usual posting time a bit. 

Since tomorrow's chapter is almost finished, I think I'm going to go resume my nap...


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"I am reminded a great deal of your first days here," Sarilis Camir began.

Vala looked around the booted feet she'd crossed atop the worktable and frowned at her friend. "Oh, yes, the days of the unending flashbacks. The nightmares, the disorientation, the confusion, the nightmares, the nausea, the constant fatigue, the nightmares--"

"Yes, those," the former bounty hunter continued. "Only in _your_ case, most of the flashbacks and nightmares could be chalked up to Qetesh."

"True," she admitted. "In Daniel's case, I don't know _where_ he gets his. Some of them are understandable, like the day before yesterday's dream involving the first time he saw his wife after she was taken as a host. Others make _no_ sense at all, like the four _hours_ he spent cowering in the corner _yesterday_, muttering about unseen dead things coming to get him and make him one of them."

"How much of it is the product of an overactive imagination and how much is the burden of a man who has simply seen too much?" Sarilis mused, determinedly scraping corrosion off some random bit of gadgetry. "So what brought you down here this time? Reasonable or outlandish?"

"A little of both," Vala admitted, bending forward to pull the footwear off and cast it and her socks in the floor. She wriggled her bare toes with a sigh. "Apparently, his parents were killed in an accident he witnessed as a small child."

"That's... unfortunate."

"Well, it certainly goes a long way toward explaining how he got to be as stubborn and independent as he is today," she replied, then narrowed her eyes at her friend when she heard what sounded suspiciously like a "look in the mirror" sort of snort. "That's the 'reasonable' part. The 'outlandish' comes from the fact that he was apparently forced to relive the incident over and over again as an adult."

"Why?"

"Based on what I heard, I guess that he and his friends were imprisoned in a sort of state of altered reality by a being Daniel referred to as 'the Keeper'. For no fathomable reason whatsoever, this 'Keeper' seemed to think that reliving one of the most traumatic events of Daniel's life was highly entertaining."

"And I thought the Goa'uld were cruel," Sarilis remarked, lifting the cup of spiced juice she favored and taking a long drink. "Actually, from the sounds of things, Daniel and his friends were considerably well-traveled."

Vala nodded. "Incredibly diverse, too. From what I can tell, Jack is a few years older than Daniel, and a sort of combination brother and father figure for him. Samantha--or 'Sam', as he calls her--is a fellow scholar, though more of the mechanical sort. The last member of his team is harder to place, but I get a sense of deep, mutual respect between Daniel and Teal'c."

Sarilis choked in her cup, coming up sputtering. "Excuse me?" she managed after a strong cough.

The younger woman rolled her eyes. "I thought you stopped adding 'extras' to your juice."

"There are no spirits in it, if that's what you mean."

"Well, then what's with the drowning impression?"

"You said the last man's name was Teal'c?"

Absently, Vala began to toy with a dark lock that had escaped the girlish twists she'd gathered her hair into that morning. "Not a man, actually, but a Jaffa."

"Holy fire," Sarilis swore, leaping up from the table with surprising grace. Vala was glad she'd never been foolish enough to think that the former bounty hunter's advancing age was slowing her, especially when manuevers like that proved her her vigor had in _no way_ diminished.

"What?"

The silver-streaked redhead rummaged around in one of the cabinets containing her old working gear. "Give me a moment." Finally, she emerged from one of the drawers with a small box tucked into her fist. Triumphantly, she placed the item on the table and righted the chair she'd knocked over in her haste. Settling onto the seat again, she pointed at the box. "This is a Goa'uld bounty marker."

"Oh, please, Sarilis, I know what those are," Vala sighed, having briefly considered a career as a bounty hunter before realizing she really didn't have the ruthless streak necessary to be successful.

The older woman smirked. "But I bet you've never seen _this_." She pushed a button and the display came to life, projecting a string of Goa'uld symbols which declared, in simplest terms, _wanted dead or alive_. "These are the Tau'ri. The four whose pictures are contained in this marker are known as SG-1, and almost anything bad that's happened to any of the System Lords in the last decade can be attributed to them."

"I've heard the Tau'ri mentioned briefly," Vala admitted, "but never really paid much attention. They're human rebels, yes?"

"Not just any human rebels," Sarilis corrected. "They are the destroyers of Ra, rebels from the First World."

"It's been _found?_" Her sources of information needed a firm talking-to if they'd failed to mention a little thing of mild interest like the discovery of a lost legend. Realizing that the older woman was practically itching to continue her presentation, she gave a sigh and a "go ahead" gesture.

The button on the side of the cube was depressed again, changing the image to that of a handsome man with gray hair peeking out from below his strangely-shaped green hat, his left eyebrow bisected by a faint scar. The picture had clearly been rendered from Goa'uld sensor images, catching the man with a nearly feral grin of triumph on his face, but he still bore an unmistakable resemblance to the Makosis village elder, Atrus. _Colonel Jack O'Neill_, read the accompanying text, _known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Marduk, Ra, Seth, and Sokar._

Vala gasped in horror, letting her feet fall off the table's edge to the floor. _This_ was Daniel's friend Jack? The reward listed below the man's image was suitable for a man clearly deemed responsible for the deaths of not one, not two, but _seven_ former System Lords. Anyone lucky enough to successfully capture and collect on that prize could retire in comfort.

Apparently satisfied she had a captive audience, Sarilis activated the device again with a flourish, changing the display to that of an attractive blond female, defiance radiating in the set of her jaw and stubborn gleam in her eyes. _Major Samantha Carter_, the text stated passively, _former host to the Tok'ra dissident, Jolinar of Malkshur. Daughter of Jacob Carter, host to the Tok'ra dissident, Selmak. Known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Seth, and Sokar._

The next image was not of a human, but of a large, dark-skinned Jaffa. A gold emblem gleamed on his brow, though the quality of the picture was not such that Vala could discern the shape. _Teal'c, former First Prime of Apophis. _Shol'va. _Leader of Jaffa rebellion. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Ammaunet, Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Seth, and Sokar._

"I can't believe it," she squeaked, the rewards being offered for the capture of these mere _rebels_ enough to feed an entire planet for a year. The bounty on Teal'c alone was approximately the same as Qetesh's entire amassed wealth.

"_I_ can't believe I didn't realize this earlier," Sarilis remarked, shaking her head. "It's a good thing--a _terribly_ good thing, I might add--that I'm _already _retired."

The final image struck her numb, though the familiar blue eyes were partially concealed behind circles of wire-rimmed glass. _Doctor Daniel Jackson. Known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Ammaunet, Apophis, Hathor, Ra, Seth, and Sokar._

"No," she managed in disbelief. She had more she wanted to say, of course, but the only thing able to pass her lips was another muffled expression of denial.

"Vala," Sarilis began, switching off the projector. "If you were ever serious about being a bounty hunter, you have one of the galaxy's most valuable marks upstairs in your bed. He's worth just as much as the _shol'va_, as much as any Tok'ra… and that says a _lot_. But--and this is a big, _big_, 'but'--if you care for that boy any at all, you are going to have to keep an eye on him. _Both_ eyes. These markers weren't issued to a great many in the game, only those of us with the skill or means to go after such a catch, but there are bound to be others out there who might recognize him."

She pressed her hands against her face. "I had _no_ idea. None."

Her friend softened. "If it's any consolation, girl, I didn't either. You see, this particular marker was issued just a little under two years ago. If I remember correctly, Osiris had just raised the bounty on Jackson to match that of the _shol'va_ when this came out, but then the whole thing was invalidated a few months later when he was reported dead."

"The _shol'va?_ Teal'c?"

Sarilis shook her head. "Jackson. I guess that's partly why it took me so long to put two and two together: he was supposedly no longer among the living. Well, that and the fact that he currently doesn't wear those silly spectacles on his face."

Vala moaned and slumped in her seat. "What am I to do, Sarilis? What can I tell him?"

"The truth?"

She gave a wheezing laugh. "Oh, of course! 'Good evening, Daniel, did you sleep well? By the way, it's a good thing you're suffering from violent flashbacks and can't leave this room, 'cause it seems you're tied for number one on the Goa'uld hit list!'"

The former bounty hunter threw up her hands. "Fine, don't tell him! But all this time you've known him, he's been trying to find out who he is, to find his people. The Tau'ri may not be all that well-known in some circles, but I guarantee you can go to one of those helpful little Tok'ra friends you pretend to ignore all the time, whisper in his ear that you needed to contact the Tau'ri on an urgent matter, and I'm sure he and his little snaky passenger would jump at the chance to assist you and the legendary Doctor Jackson."

Vala choked back a sob. "You're right, of course. I... I should tell him." Stumbling to her feet, she wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat, hoping she neither looked nor sounded as awful as she felt. Daniel might not have the best vision of all--in fact, had apparently worn corrective lenses most of his life--but he was hardly blind or deaf. Taking her time to compose herself, she slowly and quietly ascended the staircase at the back of the shop, easing open the door at the top of the landing.

"Hey, Vala," murmured a sleepy voice, head turning to greet her.

She hesitated. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"  
Daniel shook his head. "I've been awake for a few minutes now."

"Oh. Sleep well?" She nearly choked again, her words unconsciously echoing her earlier sarcasm.

"Surprisingly, yes," he answered, smiling. "Good dream this time. Don't really remember a lot of details of it, but my friends were in it. At one point, Teal'c tried to get my attention." He licked his lower lip. "Funny thing, I wonder now how I could forget that he always called me by my first and last names together, like they were all one word."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My name's Daniel… Jackson."

Knees too weak to support her further, she sank down on the edge of the bed. "Nice to meet you, Daniel Jackson." She bit her lip. "Did you learn anything else?"

As Daniel began relating the fuzzy details of "team nights" with his friends, the little voice Vala had come to recognize was her conscience began to berate her for being stubborn, foolish, and selfish. She mentally told the hateful thing to shut up and leave her alone. This was the right decision for them both... it had to be.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
So... the meaning of the title becoming more obvious yet//evil grin//

Oh, and ye fans of "The Thief and the Archaeologist" should have found this chapter a might bit familiar...


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32Daniel inhaled deeply, enjoying his first breaths of fresh air in nearly a week. Since first falling ill on Jaya, he'd spent the next four days in fevered delirium, shifting between reality and his apparently eventful past. Each "spell" left him weak and exhausted and more confused than ever. Vala had been there for him through it all, though, somehow getting them off the planet on which they'd been trapped and back to their apartment all on her own.

Her resourcefulness amazed him, but he hadn't yet asked her how she'd managed to escape, much less drag his undoubtedly useless self with her. In fact, he was embarrassed to admit that he'd selfishly hoarded his time awake by pestering her with a thousand questions about anything he might have said or done that could provide some clue to his origins. The intense flashbacks finally faded as quickly as they began, leaving him wrung out, but hopeful. It wasn't much, but the recovery of his surname seemed a victory. He was no longer just "Daniel", but "Daniel Jackson".

Vala was an even greater mystery than ever before, though, watching him constantly as though he could have a relapse at any moment. He supposed that it was possible he could, but the constant mother-henning was as frustrating as it was endearing. After he'd begged her to let him take a walk to regain some of the strength he was sure he'd lost during his incapacitation, she finally let him out of her sight for a whole five minutes before tracking him down in the market. On the way back to Sarilis' shop, she'd gotten fussy when he inhaled a whiff of something foul-smelling and had a fit of coughing to clear his sinuses of the stench.

Actually, he remembered similar behavior from Jack, Sam, and the petite physician, Janet. Maybe there was just something about him that inspired certain people to try to mother him, and others to try to beat the living daylights out of him.

He grinned wryly. Some people--Jack, for example--apparently had _both _urges.

"What's so funny?" Vala asked as they were escorted into the Hans' drawing room.

"Nothing," he answered. "Just something weird about Jack."

"From what you've told me so far, _everything _about Jack is weird."

Daniel laughed. "Good point."

They waited in companionable silence, though Vala was a little twitchier than normal. He wondered if maybe it was her restless spirit itching to get back to adventure and excitement, especially after having spent the better part of the last week watching over him. If so, maybe the reason the Hans had asked them to come was to inform them of a new contract. None of the other leads they had to date looked terribly promising, seeming to require a degree of research and surveillance they currently weren't able to spare the time and effort to accomplish.

He scratched his newly-grown beard absently, intrigued by the idea of pursuing a new mystery himself. If his many adventures with his friends were any indication, he'd _lived _for the thrill of discovery. If his unreliable memory was correct, he'd also _died_ for it, too, and on more than one occasion.

Daniel hadn't shared that strange revelation with Vala yet--not that he was aware, anyway--and found himself reluctant to give her anything else about which she could potentially worry. He seemed to have made a bad habit of dying, so maybe there was some credence to Tarchios Marson's theory of immortality after all.

Finally, Han Kazo entered the room flanked by his wife and eldest daughter and followed by Kien Lu and Liu Shao. Daniel was surprised to see the two agents, having thought they'd be busy furthering the family's business on other planets. The entourage greeted the treasure hunters with formal bows, leaving Daniel to wonder what direction this particular meeting was to take.

"Master Daniel and Lady Vala," began Han Mai, the grown daughter of the family's patriarch, "you have been acquainted with this family for just under two full moons, yet already you have proven your faith and value in many ways. The decision has therefore been made to extend you an invitation of full membership of the family, with all the rights and privileges granted any of the adopted cousins."

Daniel blinked in surprise, looking to Vala for his cue. Whatever they were being offered was clearly a high honor, though he wasn't quite sure what the benefits of such an arrangement could be. She was their business and financial expert, after all, he was just the translator.

"I--We're flattered," the dark-haired woman began, stammering just slightly. "I'm just not entirely sure it's the right arrangement for us."

"Our arrangement does not change," Kazo assured her. "Your terms of employment with the Han family remain unaltered; it is only the benefits of rank which increase. Yuna and I would like you two to enjoy the protection and influence bearing the sign of the family offers."

"You mean the amulets?" Daniel asked.

"That is the physical representation of such, yes," the burly man replied. "Although they will be of no assistance to you on planets where we have no presence, they may be able to gain you aid where you otherwise might not have any allies."

Vala crossed her arms. "But will they require any sort of oath of allegiance?"

Kazo and Yuna exchanged a glance. "Only that you uphold the three tenets of Han philosophy: honor, wisdom, and courage. We would ask of you nothing further," promised the matriarch.

The dark-haired thief sighed. "Well, I'm never the first, rarely the second, and occasionally the third. I'm afraid I have to decline, tempting as it is."

Taking his cue from her, Daniel shook his head. "Then I must decline as well."

"Actually, _you_ should accept," Vala corrected.

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you are the _embodiment_ of all three and it might come in handy to have the... influence of the Hans at your disposal."

The compliment took him by surprise, especially given the nearly backhanded manner in which it was delivered. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Well?" Kazo prompted.

He shrugged. "Vala says it's a good idea and I trust her." Out of the corner of her eye, it looked like his partner flinched. When he turned to look at her though, her expression was imperturbable. "Is it a one-time offer only, or can Vala reconsider at a later date?"

"The invitation remains open, of course."

The ceremony was refreshingly brief, consisting of little more than him pledging to uphold the family philosophy, and Kazo accepting him as a "cousin", with all the powers and protection any kin would receive. When the amulet denoting his new status was placed around his neck, the patriarch bowed respectfully and boomed, "Welcome to my family, Daniel of Makosis."

"Daniel Jackson," he corrected with a smile, returning the bow. "It is an honor, Master Han."

Kien Lu and Liu Shao then stepped up to offer their congratulations, the shaven-headed man slapping Daniel on the back amicably. "Shao here thought he'd landed the trade lead of the week, but thanks to you and Vala, it is I who have secured not only a lead, but have even begun the negotiations for an agreement!"

"What did we do?" Daniel asked in confusion.

Vala slipped her arm around his elbow. "Oh, that's right, you don't remember. We managed to sweet-talk the Lacanans into considering a trade between Jaya and the Hans."

"We did?"

"You did," agreed a familiar voice.

Daniel turned his head and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Syntagos."

Balin beamed. "Nice to see you on your own two feet again. You did not look nearly so steady when we parted company."

"I guess not," he agreed. "So Jaya's going to become a trade partner with the Hans?"

"If all goes well. Part of my punishment for being insubordinate to my superior included reassignment... to the diplomatic command," she replied.

Vala struggled to maintain a straight face, lips twisting in vain. "How terribly unfortunate."

The syntagos laughed. "It's proving to be more exciting than I thought! Getting to be the first person from my world to travel to another is interesting enough."

Daniel grinned back, but when Balin turned to speak with Kazo, he leaned toward Vala and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Why do I get the impression you aren't telling me everything?"

"About what?" she asked, all innocence.

"About how we got off Jaya... how we talked the Lacanans into considering a trade deal."

"Don't worry, darling, I'll tell you all about it later." She patted his arm, moving off to join Yuna and Mai.

Liu Shao shook his head. "She's a clever one, Miss Vala."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. He scratched at his beard again, wondering how he'd let Vala convince him to not shave the four days' growth accumulated during his illness. She said she liked the look of it, but he'd never been confident enough in his choices of apparel or grooming to contradict her. "What sort of lead did you say had, Shao?"

"A trade lead, of course. The only problem is that they're a bit of a paranoid race. They do not wish to let anyone through their Stargate. In order to be able to conduct business with them, Master Han will have to decide on an acceptable neutral location where we can meet to discuss terms."

"Why not just meet them here?" he frowned.

Shao shrugged. "Paranoia on _our_ part. We typically do not give the coordinates to our world to anyone but our agents and other employees. In fact, Syntagos Balin is here only because she was escorted."

It made a great deal of sense, he realized. By limiting the number of people who knew how to find them, the Hans were protecting their planet from unwanted visitors. In fact, it was the reason his own people had been reluctant to let--

"Master Daniel? Miss Vala?"

"Yes?" Vala replied, gliding back to Daniel's side as though she hadn't even left.

Balin tucked her arms behind her back. "One of the reasons I came today was to extend a formal apology to you for the way my government treated you during your time on our world, and return the packs and weapons we confiscated. The Senate has also authorized me to offer you a reward for putting us into contact with the Hans. We'll never be able to fully repay you, but perhaps there is something we can offer."

Vala opened her mouth to reply, but Daniel found himself unable to resist reminding her, "They don't have ships." She pouted and started to speak again. "They don't have precious metals, either."

"Drat," she muttered, sticking out her lower lip and looking like a sulky teenager. She brightened almost immediately, though. "You wouldn't happen to have a means of correcting minor visual impairments, would you?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Monday starts a new adventure for our dynamic duo, the treasure hunters-slash-would-be space pirates! It will also include a fabulous new feature: Daniel's now-perfect eyesight! Okay, so it won't be mentioned more than once or twice, but it's been a long-time coming, don't you think? 


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"I'm _bored_."

"Hi, Bored, I'm Daniel."

Vala scowled. "You know, that was _actually_ funny the first two times you said it. The last _eight_ were not nearly so amusing."

Daniel looked up from the tablets he was studying and sighed. "Which begs me to ask: was it _really _necessary to inform me of your level of boredom ten times?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't really go any faster on this, Vala. Realistically speaking, we knew when we started that not every ancient artifact we pursue is going to be easily recovered in just a matter of days. Some of these things have been lost for thousands and _thousands_ of years."

"I _know_," she pouted, "but we've been in this library for almost two weeks."

"Then go find something to keep yourself occupied," he answered, bending back over his translations. "Go shopping in the market or something."

"Hmmm, that'd be fun... except that we have no _money_." She gave him an impish grin. "I spent it all _last _week."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish I could think of something for you to do, but since you don't read this language, that doesn't leave much. You don't _really _have to stay here with me, you know... you could go to some other planet and do whatever it is you did before you and I met."

Vala turned around, planting her rear on the desk right next to the tablets. "Are you sure it wouldn't make you jealous of the other boys?"

"I think I can manage," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He'd long-since given up trying to figure out the way her mind worked. Her logic twisted, turned, and doubled-back on itself so many times, a bloodhound would be unable to follow the trail.

Sighing again, he rubbed at his eyes. Thanks to the brilliant optical surgeons on Jaya, he no longer had to worry about having to squint to bring the letters into focus, which lessened his likelihood of experiencing headaches. Unfortunately, Vala could still induce them all on her own.

"I've got a _great _idea," she began unexpectedly.

He looked up. "You're still here?"

"Of course, silly. Anyway, why don't we skip this Horus Potion and go on to the next one on the list, hmm?"

"It's _Auris Potensa_, and you sound like Jack when you deliberately mess up the names." He started to tap his stick of charcoal against the desk top before realizing such an action would probably break it. What he wouldn't give for a simple ballpoint pen! "Besides, if we go on to the next one without having fully explored this one--"

"Yawn," she remarked.

"--Then the last two weeks really _will_ have been a complete waste," he finished, ignoring her other favorite way of expressing her restlessness. "When we get to the _new_ place, I'll be starting all over again with fresh references, establishing new rapport with the local loremasters, and basically just doing everything I've been doing _here_."

Vala crossed her arms. "Well, it doesn't look to_ me _like you've accomplished much of anything."

Daniel groaned. "It takes _time_, Vala. Seriously."

"What if _I_ need a little time?" Grinning saucily, she leaned toward him, letting the low cut of her shirt give him an... "interesting" view. "Hmm? I'm not about to leave you here all by yourself."

He gripped her upper arms and pushed her back, sitting her upright once more. "I _wouldn't _be by myself. There's a whole monastery full of monks here."

"You _would _fit right in, wouldn't you?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Clearly it wasn'ta vow of _silence_," she huffed, sliding off the table.

"What?"

"Figure it out, darling." Throwing a wink at him, she vanished around the corner of one of the massive bookcases.

He had just completed the translation of the fifth tablet and started the sixth and final text when voices drifted to his ears. He dropped his charcoal stick.

"--Just be a little bit of fun, you and me."

"I--I... Miss..."

"Vala," Daniel began, a little sharper than he had intended. "Leave the monks alone."

Without replying, the dark-haired thief clenched her jaw and stalked off down the aisle. The hapless young monk she'd been propositioning stared after her before turning wide eyes on Daniel.

"Is she your burden?"

"My what?"

The younger man scuffled his feet uncertainly. "It is said that traveling scholar-priests carry their burdens with them, so that temptation is never more than an arm's length away. That their continued resistance to temptation is what keeps them strong, makes them worthy."

"First off," Daniel began, wiping the black dust of his fingers before folding his hands on the desk, "I'm no priest--though Vala seems to think I've taken a vow of chastity. Secondly, she's my _friend_, even when she's acting like a hormone-driven teenager. She's led a rough life and seems to think that if she keeps everyone off-balance with her... her sexual advances, she doesn't have to worry about forming any real emotional bonds with anyone. It's a defense mechanism."

From the expression of confusion on the monk's face, he'd understood only about one word in ten. "She is a very strange woman."

Daniel smiled. "I'll give you that. Still, she's saved my life, helped me get through some very rough patches, and generally just been there when I needed her. If she hadn't found me when she did… well, let's just say I wouldn't be the man I am today."

"Then she is your… betrothed?"

Clearly, this man's medieval upbringing didn't foster the concept that men and women could simply be friends with one another. On a strange note, he found the idea of being more than "just friends" with the incorrigible thief to be not at all unappealing. He knew enough about his own past, though, to know that his attempts at romantic relationships had all been spectacular failures.

Daniel had been burned so many times, he felt like Gran's mythical bird. He remembered most of the general details of his and Sha're's tragically short-lived marriage, but the day-to-day was faded, as though he'd already begun to forget them before his mysterious amnesia. More often than not, it was Vala's face which interposed over his deceased wife's, which didn't help his confusion any at all. Then there were two young women with long, curly blond hair, and his instincts told him neither relationship had lasted long nor ended well.

In fact, the only _lasting_ bonds he could recall having made were those of his teammates, although even that was being called into question as he remembered more of the times leading up to what he suspected had been his death. It was far safer, then, to keep Vala safely within the realm of friendship. Her flirtatious mannerisms were enough to tempt a saint, and he was certainly no saint, no matter what kind of pedestal she seemed to place him on at times. He trusted her with his life and his sanity, but she was a woman who had made her way in life by toying with men's hearts, and he was certainly not about to offer up his own for her amusement.

"Master Daniel?"

He nearly leapt out of his seat, having forgotten the young monk was still there. "Sorry, I got sidetracked. To answere your question: no, we're not betrothed. Our relationship is very, _very_ complicated, and let's just leave it at that." He cleared his throat, realizing a change of topic was in order. "Brother, could you do me a favor? Check with the archivist to see if he has any other documents related to the, uh, _Auris Potensa_?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Apologies for the short post. Needless to say, I will be purchasing a laptop as soon as I get my income tax return, as this is now the SECOND time I've had a chapter finished and went to save it... and had my PDA lose _everything_. 


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The little old man with the donkey and cart wisely kept out of the way when he saw Vala storming down the hill from the monastery, muttering imprecations about brilliant linguists who could be so _incredibly_ dense at times. Normally, she would have had a smile and a wave for the elderly farmer who brought his produce to the monks every day, but she was presently _not _in the mood to favor anything male with an expression which might be misconstrued as approval. Men, she decided, were all a bunch of idiots.

The monks, she could understand the _monks!_ They, at least, had devoted their lives to the preservation of knowledge and pursuit of "spiritual" endeavors... even if it _was_ to a god that was most likely just another Goa'uld. _Daniel_, on the other hand, was a linguist, a historian, and even a warrior, but was seemingly immune to her every effort to make her attentions known. Smoldering glances which could make most men putty in her hands rolled off on him like rain on a well-oiled cape.

It was nearly a mile from the library to the village and the storm that had kept them from venturing to the monastery the previous day had left the road a soggy mess. She had complained every step of the way on the trip up the hill this morning, which she had realized only-too-late was the wrong thing to do. Daniel had immediately replied that she could just stay in town and didn't _have_ to hang around while he researched the so-called Orb of Power. She wasn't about to admit to him that she was afraid to leave him alone, and even more reluctant to be _left_ alone.

She had never in her life met anyone like Daniel. In her experiences, most men could be easily led around by their nether regions by a woman strong enough to take control. She'd seen it with her own father, especially after her mother died and the fool re-married the witch, Adria. It was skill she had quickly adapted for her own after being sold off to a weapons trader by said wicked stepmother, using the finely-tuned art of feminine wiles to get her way on more than one occasion.

The scholar was seemingly impervious to her charms, however, and she worried that he would one day grow tired of her or remember enough of his past to seek out his friends. He'd be gone from her life forever, and she was astonished to realize how much that particular thought pained her. When they had first become acquainted, she had thought he would be wholly dependent on her, but as soon as his valuable skills as a translator were discovered, their roles were reversed. Suddenly, it was _Daniel_ who had the means to ensure their survival, and she had done her very best to make herself indispensable to him.

Vala had never let him know that her own presence among the Hans was superfluous, that there was nothing she could do that was actually _needed_. It was, in part, the reason she'd refused the generous offer of membership to the family. Even though the Hans had been wonderful, she also couldn't imagine binding herself in any way to anyone's purpose but her own. Protecting Daniel wasn't truly a breach of that vow, of course, as his continued good health and well-being were in line with her own interests.

She snorted, kicking at a stray rock in the road and accidentally sending it into a flock of bleating sheep. So far, her "protections" included ensuring that he wouldn't need to resort to wearing spectacles to read his precious tablets, scrolls, and tomes, and convincing him that the beard he'd grown was a good look for him. It _was_, of course, and she suspected that even shaving his head _bald_ would not have been detrimental to his appearance. They were minor, almost insignificant changes, though, and she had secretly stolen another look at the bounty marker before they left Katana. To her eyes, it was still painfully obvious that the Daniel with whom she traveled was the Daniel of the First World.

The narrow two-story buildings of the town loomed nearby, so she sought out another rock on which to vent her frustrations. She was careful not to inadvertently aim it in the direction of hapless livestock, watching it describe a satisfyingly long arc before splatting into a patch of some sort of vegetables. The people of the village didn't care for her at all, whispering behind their hands whenever they saw her out walking alone. For some reason, they seemed to think Daniel was akin to royalty, but Vala was met with nothing but scorn.

Although she was terribly fond of styling her hair in various ways, she'd taken to letting it flow freely down her back just to spite the locals. One of their many ridiculous religious beliefs seemed to hold that women should never let their hair be unbound. Since they were also forbidden from cutting their hair, Vala thought it was a terribly foolish notion and began flaunting her freedom to wear her tresses as she saw fit. As a result, some of the younger women looked on her with admiration, while the older ones did so with disdain. Daniel had attempted to explain the custom to her, but Vala didn't really care.

Holding her head high, she strolled down the muddy street, swaying her hips exaggeratedly just to infuriate the housewives industriously working to wash and bleach linens. As expected, the women's eyes tracked her every move and their sharp tongues were not far behind in whispering to one another how shameful and sinful her behavior was. Normally, Vala got along very well with women of all walks of life, but the females of this world were unusually and annoyingly perverse. She had half decided much of what was wrong here was the presence of so many unmarried men living just down the road.

The area of town Daniel had generously dubbed the "market" was little more than a group of craftsmen's establishments, including the butcher, the blacksmith, and the tanner. Whenever the Hans brought their caravans to this world, the convoy usually set up in the same square, but they weren't expected to return until this planet's mid-summer. There were several small booths occupied by visiting merchants from other villages, but Vala had already seen--and been _un_-impressed by--the wares they had to offer. Despite what she had told Daniel, she had yet to spend so much as a _sliver _of precious metal on anything beyond their food and lodgings.

As she stood surveying the shops and tried not to choke on the chemical stench wafting from the leatherworker's, she spotted a faded sign for another business which seemed to be far more intriguing. She was only two steps inside the tavern before she realized that this was _not_ a place where women were generally accepted. In fact, the only female in the room other than herself was a very bored-looking serving wench, who rather tiredly deposited a pair of foaming tankards on a table

All eyes were immediately on Vala, conversation coming to an abrupt halt as the men gathered at the tables looked up at the intruder on their little haven. She waggled her fingers in a flirtatious "hello", then sauntered over to the bar as though she had every right to be there. In her opinion, she _did_... there wasn't a "no girls allowed" sign on the door--not one she could read anyway.

"May I assist you?" the barmaid asked hesitantly. Vala noticed that even _she_ wore her hair long and braided in a coil around her crown.

"Bring me the _strongest_ fermented beverage you have," she announced, giving each man who still stared at her a returning glare of defiance. "Make it a large one."

The brunette made an 'oh' of surprise. "But women don't drink such--"

"_This_ one does," Vala retorted, lazily leaning against the counter and canting her head to one side. "I also wear my hair long and loose, so don't make such a big deal of it." She realized another fundamental differenced she'd almost missed. "And I wear _pants_, too."

"Yes, ma'am." Suddenly timid, she scurried around behind the bar and emerged with a wooden tankard nearly as tall as the length of her forearm. It was filled at one of the taps on the back wall, then set before her, nearly foaming over the lip.

Vala smiled in thanks and slapped down a slip of silver that was probably worth at least ten times the cost of the alcohol. Not at worried if she spilled any, she lifted the heavy mug into hand and took an experimental swallow. As she expected, it was bitter and pathetically weak compared to many intoxicants she had sampled over the years. The weight of anticipation in the tavern indicated their obvious belief she would find the beverage either revolting, become quickly inebriated, or both.

Clearly, the men of this town had never met Vala Mal Doran. They were about to become acquainted.

"So, drinks at the tavern while the womenfolk do the daily chores. Pretty nice deal you have," she remarked casually. "But I guess it's different during planting and harvesting seasons, right?" There was no reply, so she shrugged, took another swig of her drink, and strolled over to a table where four men were embroiled in what seemed to be a game of chance. "Mind if I join you?"

The men exchanged startled looks. Finally, one dipped his head in acquiescence and pushed a stool out for her. "Do you know the rules?"

"No, but I'm a fast learner," she promised.

And she was, though she kept up her "losing streak" for far longer than would really have been necessary. After the noise level in the room at last returned to the level she expected it had been before her arrival, she stopped playing so conservatively. Her earnings slowly began to pile up, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the bar. She soon had a flock of admirers crowded around the table, drawn in by the novelty of a woman who left her hair loose, wore trousers, drank foul beer like it was water, and was a deft hand at games of chance.

She'd collected a tidy little sum of winnings when there was a commotion at the door. "Vala, I found it!"

She nearly choked on the last of her beer, turning around to face Daniel. He was flush with excitement and panting slightly, indicating he'd probably run all the way from the monastery to tell her his good news. The thrill of discovery was a _far_ better look for him than the expressions of annoyance he'd been wearing lately.

"Really?" she prompted, casually scooping up her winnings and nodding her thanks to her fellow gamers. Rising lazily to her feet, Vala linked her arm with her partner's and casually guided him toward the door. A last, impish wave to the room gave her a great view of the stunned expressions on the patrons' faces.

How joyful was the sound of breaking hearts!

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Thief!Vala returns full-force! And anyone who hasn't already been clued in on Vala's motivations, now has a better picture.

Tomorrow, we'll find out what _Daniel_ found out... and learn why the housewives don't like Vala.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"Was that a _bar?_"

Vala affected an expression of shock. "Of course not!" At his look of complete incredulity, though, she amended, "It was a gaming hall that happened to also serve alcohol."

"Sure." Daniel shook his head as though to clear it. "Walk with me back to the library and I'll tell you what I discovered."

"Darling, I'm yours," she replied, leaning toward him just slightly. She smirked to herself as the local shrews glared at her "wanton" behavior.

He gave a muffled snort that could have been suppressed laughter. "You enjoy harassing them, don't you?"

"Doing what?"

"Nevermind. In this case, I say 'keep it up'."

She nudged his side with her free hand. "Don't like 'em either, do ya?"

He frowned, gently swatting her fingers away from his ribcage. "I didn't say _that_. As I tried to explain earlier, they have reasons for doing what they do, though it turns out I was wrong on a few points." He cleared his throat. "Okay, so after you, uh, embarrassed Brother Bonifas, I sent him to check with the archivist for anything else related to the _Auris Potensa_. I thought he was gone an _awful _long time, but then he returned with not only the master archivist, but the abbot, too."

"Well, _that_ was more than you asked."

"It was because of _what_ I asked. Father Constasis wanted to know why I was so interested in such an artifact of 'great evil' and what I planned to do with it."

"And what'd you tell him?"

"Er, _mostly _the truth. We planned to take it from this world so that its evil wouldn't be among them any more."

Vala laughed. "Well, that's _one_ way to put it. And they bought it?"

"Well, that's essentially what we want to do, so yeah. Then Father Constasis sent Brother Bonifas away and had Brother Petrus go retrieve what was apparently the _original_ six tablets on the item. He told me that they were originally recovered from 'Lillia's Garden'."

"Who's Lillia?"

"That's what _I_ asked. Based on the story he told me about Lillia and her consort, Adamus, I suspect her to have been a Goa'uld who took on the persona of Lilith, the first wife of the mythical first man, Adam."

"Okay, I'm lost."

Daniel sighed. "Sorry, I sometimes forget you and I aren't from the same planet. Certain religions and cultures hold the idea that a divine creator shaped Man from earth and breathed life into him, naming him 'Adam'. Now, some groups believe that he also created an equal for Adam at that time, a woman named Lilith. After a dispute, Lilith left the Paradise created for them, so God took a rib from Adam and made another woman named Eve."

"From a _rib?_"

"According to some, it's supposed to be a symbol that she was made from part of Adam, and therefore under his command instead of his equal."

Vala raised an eyebrow, deliberately poking Daniel in his own ribs. "I don't think so."

He laughed, pushing her hand away again. "You see, that's exactly why the people here don't like you. You clearly don't see yourself as my inferior--and don't for a _moment_ think I see you as such. They also have taboos about women cutting their hair or wearing men's clothing because their religion tells them it is sinful to impersonate a man."

She looked down, grinning inwardly when Daniel's gaze followed her own to her exposed cleavage. "No mistaking _that_."

Her partner coughed. "Noooo," he drew out, rolling his eyes. "Modesty's another big thing with them. But anyway, loose hair is associated with Lilith to these people, so they essentially are comparing you to their demon queen."

Vala frowned. She'd certainly been called many things before, but "demon queen" was a new one. Actually, there'd been a somewhat similar title for Qetesh, but the Goa'uld had discouraged its use, preferring to maintain her pretense as a "beloved" and "benevolent" goddess.

They had at last reached the monastery gates and were let in by one of the monks who--oddly--had a smile for them _both_ this time. After carefully wiping their feet on the massive rug just inside the temple doors, they continued down the echoing halls toward the library.

"Did he just smile at me?" Vala asked, confused.

Daniel grinned. "He did. I guess Father Constasis wasted no time in giving them all the good news."

"_What_ good news?"

"According to local legend, there's a curse Lillia supposedly cast on this world for Adamus having left her for Ava… Eve. You might've noticed that there are considerably more women here than men..."

"I figured that was because a goodly number of them were _here_."

He shrugged. "Well, according to Father Constasis, a quarter of all male children born don't survive past five years. It's probably caused by a fatal genetic defect passed down the generations, but _they_ believe it's Lillia's curse. At any rate, legend holds that the curse will be lifted when Adamus returns with Lillia to the garden she created for them to share."

Vala sighed, brain thoroughly crossed by all the atoms and lilies. How Daniel could keep all these things straight, she would probably never understand. "Okay, but _what_ does that have to do with the Orb of Power we came here to get?"

"Translation error. When the monks transcribed the tablet in its original language into their version of Medieval Latin--uh, I don't know what language _you_ would call it--they made a few errors. It's not _Auris Potensa_, but _Arbis Potensia_. 'Tree of Empowerment'... quite possibly an allusion to the mythical Tree of Knowledge. I won't get into too many details about _that_, but given that it was in Lillia's possession, it's likely we'll find it in her Garden."

"We're looking for a _plant?_"

"The root of evil," he grinned, then winced. "Sorry, lousy joke. I doubt it's actually a plant of some kind but a computer database. A storehouse of knowledge, maybe. In _any_ case--and the point I think you're waiting to hear--"

"Definitely," she agreed, flopping heavily into one of the chairs and propping her feet up on the desk.

"--I think you and I can impersonate Adamus and Lillia."

Completely lost in his leaps of logic, Vala sighed again. "The ladies down the hill all seem to think I'm the spawn of Netu anyhow, so I fail to see the purpose."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm getting ahead of myself again, sorry." He propped a hip up on the table, resting his hand atop one of the slabs of stone. "I had a lot of trouble translating the first tablets the archivist gave me because there'd be entire passages that would make little sense, as though the monk who first made the translation from the original didn't quite understand what it was he was inscribing, but was going for the closest equivalent he _did_ know. Of course, I didn't know there _was_ an original set, so I was about ready to chalk the whole thing up to the ravings of a mad man. That's when I discovered the passage about Lillia securing her Garden so that the only way to get back _in_ was to present herself and her, uh..." He winced. "Present herself and her 'beloved' and prove themselves by three tests. Here was where the scribe then broke from translation to apologize for not understanding what the three tests were."

"But the original tablets do, yes?"

"Yeah." He moved his hand atop another one. "Basically, we'd have to speak, give samples of blood, and... uh..."

"What?"

He cleared his throat. "'Exchange affection'. Direct quote."

Vala felt her face break out in a grin. "You mean we get to stand in front of a door and--"

"Kiss. Maybe it's just a kiss," he suggested quickly, looking uncomfortable.

Did he _really_ find that thought so revolting? He hadn't seemed to mind the first and _only_ time they'd "exchanged affection". Then again, he hadn't remembered his long-lost wife then, either. Was the ghost of Sha're to hang over Vala forever? "Maybe," she agreed neutrally, swinging her feet to the floor. "Do we know where the entrance to the Garden is?"

He nodded. "According to Father Constasis, this monastery was built atop it."

"Talk about being underneath our noses," she muttered, leaning across the table to peer at the original tablets. To her astonishment, the stone faces were not covered in the same angular text as the ones Daniel had previously been translating, but with blocky, uniform characters. "This is the language of the 'Gate Builders!"

Daniel blinked, frowning at the tablets. "And?"

"You can _read _it?" Vala gave a noise of exasperation, waving her hands. "Well, of _course_ you can. Is there any language in the known universe you _can't?_"

"I'm sure there are a few," he frowned. "What's the big deal?"

"'Gate Builder technology, Daniel. It's the most valuable thing _ever_. This probably means that Lillia had access to their language... which could very well mean that her little Tree of Knowledge was a database of 'Gate Builder knowledge and technology!"

"But the Ancients--the 'Gate Builders--died out tens of thousands of years before this culture came into being. In fact, the society from which the people of this world were taken wasn't even formed until thousands of years _after_ Ra was evicted from the First World."

Vala raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Two things. First, my team and I encountered a similar civilization that had been taken by Sokar. Rather than trying to take the role of the stern but benevolent god they worshipped, Sokar took the opposite tact and posed as Satan… essentially a demon. Lillia did the same thing with _these_ people, and might even have been Sokar's consort at one point."

"You said two things. That's really the same point, you know."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I think it should be pretty obvious by now. The only way I can possibly know all the things I do about the various cultures we've encountered--_especially_ the ones which didn't form until after the First World was supposedly lost--is because I'm _from_ there. I'm Tau'ri."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Exposition, exposition, exposition... _bam!_ Revelation! That is, of course, assuming you've been one of the few able to _read_ this chapter 'cause of FFnet's rather peculiar and rampant glitches. 

Oh, wait. You're reading this note so you MUST have been able to get here. Hmmm... I wish I had a handy-dandy fix for this one, but they've managed to thwart me this time!


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

"Tau'ri?" Vala repeated, looking so lost and bewildered that Daniel immediately felt sorry for her.

"Sorry, it's just what I remember Teal'c telling me his people called the First World. _My_ world. I seem to recall him being referred to as 'Teal'c of the Tau'ri' on an occasion or two, even though I know the name of the planet _he_ came from is Chulak."

"So... the First World has been found?"

Daniel shook his head, wondering if maybe he'd given her too much information at once. "After they overthrew Ra, the people of my world buried the Stargate. The people who live on _this_ world had to have come here some other way... by ship perhaps. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I think we can fool the so-called 'tests' into accepting us as Lillia and Adamus. There's a word next to 'blood' which basically translates to 'power stone', which I'm _guessing_ is--"

"Naquadah," Vala concluded. "Which _I _have in my blood and you don't. How will that work?"

"Based on what I've read, I think Adamus and Ava were human."

"Oh. What about the speaking part?"

"Well, I'm hoping it's just referring to announcing ourselves in Goa'uld and possibly Latin." He grimaced. "I hope it doesn't call for the actual sound of a Goa'uld's voice because there's _no_ way either of us can fake that."

His partner grinned, rising from her chair. "Leave that to me. I'll be back in no time, darling. Don't go exploring without me!" She impishly tapped his bearded cheek as she walked by, casting a long glance over her shoulder to see if he was watching her go.

Thankfully, she hadn't pressed the "kissing" issue, though he was uncertain whether he was relieved or disappointed. The one kiss they had shared was not long after they met, and he wasn't about to kid himself by pretending it hadn't been... nice. Surprising, yes, but nice. The only problem was, he had his nagging doubts that she had any kind of serious feelings for him, especially after having witnessed how much she enjoyed winding up the men at the tavern.

Shaking his head, he set about making transfers of the original tablets, grateful Father Constasis had been kind enough to give him sufficient paper for the task. Soon, he had rubbed copies of all the tablets and was carefully laying them in order so that they could be returned to the vault from which they'd come. As he placed his hand on the final one, he felt a sudden sensation of vertigo.

_"I'm an Ancient."_

_Sam turned to look at him, confusion etching her features. "What?"_

_"Not _me_ personally, but the Others like me. They're the Ancients."_

_A man similar in height and age to himself walked over to the table, staring down at the tablet revealed. "This is written in one of the oldest dialects of the Ancients," Jonas exclaimed._

_It had all been in front of him, yet he had never managed to put the pieces together, not even when Orlin had built his own miniature Stargate in Sam's basement--something they had reminisced over before they were scolded by the Others for being too attached to the lower plane. They had always seemed to be holding something back from him, and now that he knew, it was so _obvious. _How could he have not known?_

Lightning flashes, sparks shower... in the blink of an eye, you have mis-seen.

_"I mean, I always suspected, but I never really knew for sure." But now he did, and now he had so many, many more questions._

_"What does it say?" Sam asked._

_"It says the Ancients evolved from a race of humans that lived long before us. They were wiped out by a plague that was sweeping across the galaxy. Many learned to ascend, the rest died out." Why hadn't they told him? What was the purpose for keeping their origin a secret? What _more_ was Oma hiding from him? "I have to go."_

_"Where?"_

_It couldn't be expressed in terms of location, as the plane on which he existed was everywhere and nowhere all at once. "I'll be back. Don't lose that tablet; it talks about a Lost City that's more valuable than anything."_

He was startled back to awareness when his forearms collided with the desk, just barely managing to regain tenuous control of his limbs in time to prevent his head from following after and slamming into the tabletop. His knees were shaking as though he'd never used them, and he quickly sat down before they completely gave out on him. Trembling, he laid his forehead against the cool wooden surface before him and tried to regain control of his racing pulse.

Once again, Daniel had discovered only more questions in finding answers. He hadn't been completely right in his guess that he'd _died_, it turned out. Instead, he had shed his physical form and become... something else.

_"The Benu bird, it is said, dies in flame, but is reborn from the ashes," Gran smiled in her motherly way. "A painful way to die, yes, but the bird returns to life brighter, wiser, and more wondrous than ever."_

He didn't _feel_ bright, wise, or wondrous at all. In fact, he felt faintly sick, knowing somehow that the discovery he had made--the tablet he had entrusted to his friends--had come at a terrible, terrible cost.

"What have I done?" he asked aloud, but nothing in the library was able to offer him an answer.

Finally, Daniel ordered himself to stop wallowing in guilt over what he didn't know and certainly couldn't change. If he hadn't been able to prevent whatever disaster had occurred when he was a powerful extra-planar being, what good could he possibly do as a mere mortal? Nothing, he decided, so he should concentrate his efforts on places and ways in which he _could_ make a difference... at least to Vala, if no one else.

He finished carefully folding his papers away and tucking them into his pack, giving the desk one last glance to make sure he wasn't missing anything he absolutely had to have. Just as he was about to turn and go wait for Vala by the monastery's entrance, a frighteningly familiar dual-toned voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Tau'ri, _kree!_"

In horror, he turned around to face the Goa'uld behind him... only to greet the amused expression of Vala Mal Doran. "How did...?"

"An amusing toy I borrowed from the Tok'ra," she replied, voice deepened unnaturally and echoing. "I never could figure out why they had need for it anyway."

"Turn it off."

She pouted, reaching up to the glowing yellow jewel on the necklace she now wore. As the stone's light faded, Vala dropped her hands to her hips. "Spoilsport," she teased in her normal voice.

Daniel blew out a shaky breath. "You scared the crap out of me," he admitted. He glared at her suspiciously. "How many villagers did you send running for cover before you got here?"

She pursed her lips contemplatively. "Not more than about... oh... a dozen or so."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, a smile coming unbidden to his lips. "You're a wicked woman."

"You see? I'm playing the part already." She cleared her throat. "I take it by your reaction you've heard a Goa'uld speaking before."

He nodded. "My wife was made a host, remember? Then there was the bastard who stole her, Apophis. There were probably others, too... and it was only just over two months ago when I first remembered having announced myself to be the Great Oz. I _now _know I also used some kind of device to record my voice and transmit it with the necessary changes."

"That's it?"

"For now. Why?"

She hesitated. "Truth be known, I'd heard of the Tau'ri before now. Learning that they're the people of the First World is very interesting, of course. I hadn't heard _much_, mind you, because the Goa'uld are hesitant to talk about anything which may seem to undermine their authority. A group of human rebels who have been known to thwart their rule on occasion is certainly nothing they'd want discussed."

"I can imagine not," he agreed.

Vala bit her lip. "You know, it might be best if we kept your being Tau'ri just between the two of us. We can't have people thinking you're some sort of radical, now can we?"

"Well, what about the Hans? If _you've_ heard of my people, they _surely_--"

"The Hans essentially work _for_ the Goa'uld," she interrupted. "Not directly, mind you, but in essence. I can only imagine what they have to do to get the various System Lords to agree to allow their caravans on their planets. Honestly, I don't _want_ to know, but my chief guess is that they sell intelligence."

"Troop movements, fortress strength, that sort of thing?"

She nodded. "In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the whole reason we were allowed to leave Gishoral after Baal's forces took over was because the _Hans_ were the ones who told Baal that Yu had withdrawn his ships from the system."

"Oh." He hadn't even _considered_ that possibility. "So I'm guessing it's a _good_ thing we have the Hans on our side, but we really can't trust them?" The expression on her face told him he'd hit the nail on the head.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, realizing that he really wasn't cut out for trying to figure out the twists and turns of what he was only now discovering was an extremely complex game of galactic intrigue. "Okay, let's just find this Garden and get this over with. If we find what we _think_ we're going to find, we can decide then what to do with the information. Obviously, anything which goes to the Hans could potentially end up in the hands of the Goa'uld."

"And _that_," Vala agreed, "would be a _bad_ thing."

Daniel swallowed heavily. Was there anyone he could trust? Not the Hans, apparently, and while he trusted the dark-haired woman beside him with his life, he'd been given every reason to believe he couldn't trust her with his heart. Did her capriciousness also extend to alliances? In that case, her refusal to accept membership with the Hans could be indicative of her unwillingness to commit herself to any cause but her own. How strong, then, was their partnership?

He was going to have to watch what he said and did _very_ carefully, then. No one could be permitted to know that he had once been an Ascended being like the very Ancients themselves. As he had slowly recovered memories from all other aspects of his past life, he wondered if he might also begin retrieving fragments from his time as a higher form of life. If so, he instinctively knew that _that_ kind of knowledge should never be allowed to fall into _anyone's _hands.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Early 'cause I have a home expo for which to go decorate. Have I mentioned lately that I take great pride in being evil? 


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Father Constasis personally led them into the catacombs beneath the monastery, a battered copper lantern in hand despite the powerful flashlights the treasure hunters carried. As they descended deeper underground, Daniel began to wonder if maybe the temple hadn't been built atop a hill, but _was _the hill. Perhaps earth had been packed around the walls of the old tunnels until all that remained exposed was what was now the ground floor. It actually made the most sense, really, as they had chosen to deliberately build the monastery above the Goa'uld's old stomping grounds.

His archaeologist's instincts told him they were perhaps seventy or eighty feet below the top of the hill now, and near the same elevation as the town. As though confirming his guess, they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell.

"I will await you at the top of the stairs," the abbot announced. "I carry three spare candles with me. When I have placed the last in my lantern, I will be forced to return without you."

"We understand," Daniel answered. "It shouldn't take us long to find out what we need to find, but I can't guarantee we'll have the necessary tools with us to, uh, remove the _Auris_. We may have to just settle for deactivating or neutralizing it and coming back for the remnants later."

"That is acceptable," Father Constasis agreed. "I wish you both the best of luck. The door to the Garden is just at the end of this hall."

"Thank you for all your help," he replied.

"You've been great," Vala added, offering a cheeky smile of her own.

They made their way down the hall, flashlights reflecting off the gold-plated door ahead of them. It was perfectly hexagonal in shape, perhaps ten feet in diameter. To either side of it were dark stone walls, as though the stone masonry corridor had been built right up to an existing building. When Daniel's light picked up dust gathered in the corners, he realized that was exactly what had happened. Over the years, dirt had sifted between the join between the disparate wall types.

"So," Vala began, sweeping her light around the end of the hall. "Step one: announce ourselves." At his go-ahead gesture, she tapped the crystal on her necklace. "_Tal'mac _Lillia!"

"_Ego sum _Adamus!"

They waited expectantly, but nothing happened. Just as Daniel opened his mouth to suggest Vala try the name "Lilith", the hexagon split down the middle and retracted into the wall on either side.

"Excellent," she grinned, switching off her voice modulator. "So, blood's next, right?"

"Yep," he agreed, digging into his coat pocket for the wrapped dagger one of the monks had given him. They stepped cautiously into the new room, noting another set of six-sided doors and a receptacle beside it.

"What if it requires the _specific_ genetic make-up of the original Lillia and Adamus?" Vala asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Then all this is for nothing. I would think that Lillia wouldn't have been so quick to be that exclusive, though, especially knowing that it could be possible she may have to take another host. Besides, if she never recovered her, uh, ex-husband, she'd never be able to get back in _then_ either."

"Good point." She held out her left hand, thumb pointed upward so that he could carefully draw a dark red bead of blood. He did the same to his own thumb, then they held their hands over the receptacle and squeezed out a few drops each. Again, the door was slow to respond, but soon groaned out of the way, opening their way to the third and final door.

"Oooh, my favorite part," she smiled. "How will the door know when we've 'exchanged affection'?"

"I have _no_ idea," Daniel replied. "Actually, I take that back... it might have heat sensors, detecting an increased blood-flow which is a sure sign of... um..."

"Excitement?"

He coughed. "Excellent word for it."

"So we could actually just get mad at one another and it would still open."

"Or maybe it has some way to detect an increase in endorphins... I don't know!"

She draped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm ready if you are."

Daniel swallowed heavily, hands resting carefully on her hips as they drew closer. If he was right on either count, then he and Vala were going to be getting pretty involved in this kiss to make the door open for them. He could feel his own pulse begin to accelerate, licking his lips as he realized that merely being this intimately _close_ to the beautiful thief was enough to increase his endorphin level.

Just before their lips touched, the door shifted and began to slide open, the treasure hunters whipping their heads around to stare in surprise. "I guess it's the thought that counts," Daniel quipped, surprised that it had been that _easy_.

Vala turned his head back to face her, stormy gray eyes flashing. "Not to _me_, it doesn't."

He was suddenly reeled into a searing kiss, the dark-haired woman's arms once more around his neck so that he could hardly pull away from her. Not that he really wanted to, if he were honest with himself. His own hands crept up to her nape, fingers threading through the waves of raven locks spilling over her shoulders and holding on for all he was worth. Then he told his brain to just shut up and enjoy.

Finally, they had to pull away to catch their breaths. Daniel panted, staring at her with wide eyes while she looked back at him with equal shock. "That was..." he began.

"Uh-huh," she gasped, looking just as stunned as he felt. "You mean..."

"Do you?"

"You too?"

"Yeah." Testing his theory, Daniel pulled her in for another, thankfully-shorter kiss, though it was no-less sweet than the first. When they drew apart this time, he looped his arms around her waist and held her close. "I thought you were just teasing me like you do everyone else."

Vala gave a throaty laugh. "I was beginning to think you weren't interested in girls."

He chuckled. "I was _married_, that should have been a clue."

"Yes, but it was 'Jack' this and 'Jack' that... and I seriously began to wonder."

"Mmm." He gave her another kiss on her temple, feeling so deliriously happy his toes wanted to curl up inside his boots. "We could probably stay here all day, but why don't we go check out the Garden _then_..."

"Discuss the terms of our partnership further?"

"Yeah."

Reluctantly, they disentangled their arms from one another and stepped into the darkened room beyond. Right away, Daniel realized that the only thing that had ever grown in this "garden" were scientific theories. It was a laboratory, complete with scopes, diagnostic tools, and computers.

Vala whistled appreciatively. "_Someone_ was a busy little bee."

"But I know what the pride of the garden was," Daniel replied, shining his light on the back wall. It was nearly black and covered in the familiar blocks of Ancient text. In the very center was a rounded object, beveled and extended out from the wall only a few inches. "It's an Ancient repository of knowledge."

"Really? What's it do?"

Daniel leaped forward, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back just as the device extended out further in response to her proximity. "Oh, nothing much. Just grabs your head, scrambles your brains, and eventually kills you."

"Doesn't seem very useful to me," she remarked, eyes wide. "Good thing you caught me in time. I take it you've seen one of these before?"

He nodded. "Jack had a close encounter that--"

"Oh. _Jack_ again."

"Funny. Anyway, since we don't have a means to contact the Asguard, it'd probably be best if we just leave this alone for a while."

Vala nodded. "What about everything else?"

He shrugged. "We pull all the data crystals and hope there's some decent information on them. Hopefully, at least one of them will contain something on whatever genetic sabotage Lillia conducted on the population, and we can get somebody--the Jayans, maybe--to devise a cure."

She tapped the end of his nose with a forefinger. "How incredibly noble of you."

"It's in the job description," he quipped.

They "exchanged affection" briefly again before turning to the various pieces of lab equipment and stripping all the data crystals out of the computers. Within an hour, they'd scoured the entire room and collected everything that looked like it might be of importance. Daniel was reluctant to leave the repository out in the open, but realized that there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Shouldering their packs, they left the lab, closing the doors behind them once more.

"Want to go open the last one again... just for fun?" Vala joked as they activated the final door and stepped back into the old catacombs.

"Not now, but maybe we can practice when we get back to the apartment."

She stroked a hand down his arm and linked her elbow with his. "Darling, I _love_ the way you think."

Father Constasis was still waiting for them at the top of the stairs, having obviously been in the midst of prayers. "Were you unsuccessful?"

"We got in," Daniel answered. "It was a _crystal_ garden, and we took most of what we could. There are still a few things we'll need to retrieve later, but we got a lot of it."

The abbot looked relieved. "And Lillia's Curse?"

Vala hefted her pack slightly. "With a little help from some of our friends on other worlds, we may be able to lift it."

The priest bowed deeply. "Then you will have our eternal gratitude! Will you stay awhile and share the evening meal?"

"We should really get back," Daniel replied. "I imagine you'll want these crystals gone as quickly as possible."

"Oh, of course," he agreed, bowing again.

Daniel grinned and squeezed Vala's hand. He knew why _he_ was in a hurry to leave, anyway, and crystals had nothing to do with it. Her answering chuckle clearly replied, "Message received."

Once back on the top level, they endured the thanks and congratulations of the monks gathered to greet them, gritting their teeth in embarassment because they really hadn't done _anything_ yet. At last, they were outside and walking back down the hill, arm-in-arm. They didn't say anything, just enjoyed the clear air and each other's company, the thrill of excitement and anticipation making their steps quicker.

In their haste, they didn't notice the ambush until it was too late to react. Daniel had time to see only the brilliant blue flash of a zat's energy before darkness fell.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
See? I gave you advanced warning yesterday... I _told_ you I was evil!Author's Notes:See? I gave you advanced warning yesterday... I you I was evil! 

Enjoy your weekend...


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Vala sat up with a gasp, hand fluttering to her throbbing head. The sudden movement made her feel faintly nauseated, and she had to quell the bile rising in her throat. As the urge to lose her lunch faded, she carefully felt the lump above her left ear, fingers jerking away when it proved to be tender. She must have struck her head when she fell, after she and--

"Daniel!"

The room was pitch black, leaving her with no clue whether or not she was alone. Trying to ignore the pounding in her skull, she rolled to her knees and began to crawl, hands questing before her in search of obstacles. The floor was made of rough wooden planks, offering her no clue about her captor other than the fact that they were _not_ on a ship.

She sincerely hoped that "they" included Daniel as well. Her initial fear upon feeling the sharp shock of the zat was that bounty hunters had caught up to them.

Her fingertips glanced off something hard, and a return inspection revealed pitted metal beaten into a cylindrical shape. There was a similar column just inches away, and another only a few more inches from it. Wherever "here" was, it was clear she was not a guest but a prisoner behind bars.

Heaving a sigh, she continued her investigation of the perimeter of her cell, mentally calculating the dimensions as she reached each corner. Since she could reach each side with an outstretched foot and hand, it was no more than six feet across in any direction. It was also painfully obvious that she was alone, as she had yet to stumble across Daniel. Her prison was two walls of metal bars--one of which seemed to have a gate--and the other two were wooden slats, much like the flooring.

She rapped her knuckles on the walls, noting by the sound that they weren't terribly thick, but obviously well-constructed by the complete lack of light shining through the gaps. It _could_ be night, she supposed, but she thought that even then there would have been a sliver of moonlight through the cracks or _something_. Then again, it was entirely possible that she had been somehow blinded, but a quick wave of her hand in front of her face proved that theory wrong. She could just barely make out the shape of her hand, so it wasn't _completely_ dark.

"This is getting old," she muttered.

"Vala?"

She nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you were--"

He gave a low chuckle. "It takes more than a zat blast to kill _me."_

"Killed" was the least of her concerns at the moment, but now was neither the time nor place to get into the discussion she belatedly realized she should have had with Daniel about the bounty on his head. "Are you okay?"

"My elbow hurts like it hit something on my way down, but other than that I'm okay. You?"

"I think my head hit your elbow, but I'm otherwise fine."

"So... is it dark in here or is it just me? Ow."

"It's dark... and watch out for the bars."

"Thanks for the warning," he replied, sounding just a little closer than he had. "I guess a set of bars right here means we aren't in the same cell."

"It's in between us?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "Come toward my voice."

Vala pushed herself to her feet and began to slowly walk in his direction. Her outstretched hand soon collided with one of his and he wrapped his fingers around her knuckles, drawing her close.

"We should stop meeting like this," Daniel joked.

Despite herself, she laughed. "Darling, you make being captured by the bad guys so much fun. It's not supposed to be, you know."

"That's 'cause I went to the Jack O'Neill school of snake-baiting. Of course, it's more appropriate when the bad guys in question are Goa'uld, but it works for pretty much anyone else, too. Did you see who shot us?"

"No, but should I be worried by the fact that you've had so much practice?" she asked, letting her head rest against his chest.

His free hand threaded through her hair. "Well, the fact that I've been captured _again_ is a pretty fair sign I've gotten away all the other times, isn't it?"

Her reply was forestalled by the sudden opening of a nearby door, brilliant light spilling through the rectangle and blinding the prisoners temporarily. A human-shaped silhouette moved to stand in the threshold.

"Well, don't you two look cozy."

Vala quickly turned to meet the newcomer, though Daniel didn't relinquish his hold on her hand. "It would have been far more comfortable without these bars in the way," she retorted.

The stranger laughed. Dragging a low stool over, he sat down in front of the door, the backlight continuing to cast his features in shadow. Whoever he was, he either intended to keep his identity a secret or simply wanted them to guess who he was. "I'd heard you'd gotten into bed with the Hans, Vala, but hadn't realized it was _literally_." He held out a hand and let something fall from his clenched palm. Although she couldn't make out any details, it was obvious by its shape that it was Daniel's amulet.

"Don't believe everything you hear," her partner replied. "By the way... who are you?"

"My manners _are_ slipping," he tsked, wrapping the amulet around his fist once again. "I'm a bounty hunter. The name's Hardis."

Vala felt as though a fist of ice was wrapped around her heart. Hardis was one of the preferred bounty hunters employed by the Lucien Alliance. If anyone had the means to find out who Daniel really was, it would be the thrice-damned Luciens. They held no love for Goa'uld rule of the galaxy, but they were opportunists always on the look-out for a profitable venture.

"Never heard of you. Sorry."

Hardis chuckled. "I can't really fault you for that since I don't even know _your_ name."

Daniel's lips quirked. "Well, as you say, I'm a Han. One of the cousins: Han Solo."

Nearly fainting in relief, Vala was grateful he'd had the prescience to not reveal his real name... though how Daniel could have known about his infamy, she couldn't guess. Perhaps it had been base instinct, a natural need to guard his identity. The icy grip on her chest loosened now that it was apparent Hardis was not after Daniel for the exorbitant price on his head.

"Funny. You don't _look_ like a Han."

"I'm adopted." He cleared his throat. "So... did you just stop by to chat or what? I mean, you could have just _asked_, if that was the case... rather than shooting us."

Hardis rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned toward them. "Now, where would be the fun in that? Besides, the last guy we sent to 'talk' didn't come back."

Vala rolled her eyes. "That sounds like _your_ problem, not ours."

"Oh, but he was an old friend of yours, Vala. Arturis Maz?"

Daniel's hand tightened only slightly on her own. "I'll echo that sentiment. That's not our problem."

"Then I'll _make _it yours. Arturis last checked in to report the two of you had entered Peklenc's temple. Since we knew he was going to wait for you just inside, that leads me to believe you two are responsible for his disappearance." He flung the amulet at the bars, the pendant glancing off the metal with a dull clang before falling to the floor just inside Vala's cell. "When we sent someone to check, of course, we found the whole mountain had come down on top of the temple. _You_ managed to escape, but I somehow doubt Arturis was so lucky."

"I don't know what you expect us to say," Daniel answered evenly. "If he was your friend, then you have my condolences."

"So you _are_ acknowledging he's dead then?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Look, that place was a maze. I made a map of it, which Vala and I followed to get to the final chamber--_empty_ chamber, I might add--and back again. If your friend got lost in there, I can't help you. If he did something stupid to bring the whole mountain down on top of him, then I _really_ can't help there, either."

The bounty hunter was silent for a long moment, perhaps assessing them in some way. Finally, he stood, shrugged, and headed for the door. "Maintain your lies if you want. I have a few friends out here who have a lot more questions for you. I can't guarantee they'll be as _nice _about receiving honest answers as I have been."

Vala shared a look of concern with her partner. The harsh lighting cast his face into sharp relief, the shadow cast by his beard making him look stern and commanding. She had often wondered what it was about him and his people that had the System Lords so afraid to speak openly of them. The look in his eyes, the set of his jaw... she was certain now that their sheer determination was what had made them one of the most formidable enemies the Goa'uld had ever faced.

And Daniel, she recalled with a smile, was number one on their list.

"We're going to get through this," he offered, reaching out with his free hand to stroke her cheek.

"I trust you," she replied.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
The folks want to go out to eat, so 'tis a few minutes early. You don't mind though, do you?

More tomorrow! My laptop should probably arrive sometime this week... //taps fingertips together and does a Mr. Burns-like "Ehk-sellent"//


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Daniel felt faintly sick, the memory of the man he had killed coming back to haunt him just as he thought he'd put that horrible event behind him. In a way, he was relieved that Maz's death still bothered him, as it meant he hadn't lost his belief in the sanctity of life. Even someone who had tried to kill Vala--and whose cohorts had tried to kill _him_--still deserved to be granted dignity in death. He'd wanted to tell Hardis the truth, but somehow doubted that the bounty hunter would have taken it well. For whatever reason, this was _personal_ for Hardis. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about the other man's behavior.

He dismissed the unknown as inconsequential for the moment, deciding to focus on the matter at hand. He hadn't been joking when he'd told Vala about his many imprisonment experiences, but there was one element which was missing this time: the rest of his team. Even at times when their personal conflicts had been greatest, they had managed to pull off some rather daring escapes. His team wasn't here, though, and weren't likely to dash to the rescue with reinforcements from Stargate Command.

It was up to him and Vala to make their escape on their own. Obviously, his partner was looking to him to take the lead, having vocally assured him of her faith in his skills. He only wished he had faith in _himself_. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, trying to figure out what Jack would do.

What _would_ Jack do? He found himself reminded him of a time when he and his teammates sat around watching some dumb science fiction B movie Teal'c had rented. After the tenth or eleventh painfully-contrived plot element, they'd turned their attention into dissecting the movie with a hilarious, beer-inspired game of "what would so-and-so do?" Each suggestion became more and more ridiculous, with Sam's "what would MacGyver do?" possibly topping the list as the most absurd, though it was closely followed by Jack's "what would Homer Simpson do?"

Daniel shook his head, attempting to clear the non sequitur. It was odd how he could recall the tiniest, most seemingly-useless memories, yet still have difficulty calling to mind the address glyphs for his homeworld. He gave the room a quick inspection now that he had some light by which to see, and found himself puzzled by the small building's construction.

He was interrupted from his musings by the arrival of several new silhouettes in the door. There were four of them, all muscle-bound ogres who unlocked their cell doors and grabbed the prisoners roughly. Daniel's hand was torn from Vala's as they were yanked apart and dragged out into the sunlight.

"I can _walk_, you know!" the feisty thief exclaimed, struggling futilely with her escort. Although nearly as tall as his own guards, Daniel was having difficulty keeping up with the deliberately-hurried pace they set. A part of him knew it was just another interrogation technique, one designed to put the prisoners off-balance... literally _and_ figuratively. He just hoped they weren't also going to--

A blow to the back of his legs sent him to his knees. He rolled his eyes in disgust, wondering why all the bad guys did the exact same thing. Was there some kind of Finishing School for Evil Henchmen? As they pulled his arms behind his back and tied his hands together, he reflected that at least _this_ time, he didn't have any eyeglasses for them to break.

"Do you find your situation funny?" asked the sneering man in front of whom he and Vala had been forced to kneel.

"Just comparing universal intimidation techniques," Daniel replied with a slight grin. He then shrugged at the bemused expression he received from his partner.

The blond-haired leader looked down on the treasure hunters as though they were something he'd just scraped off his boot. "Perhaps you'd care for another demonstration of them, then."

"No, no," he denied vehemently. "I'm a quick study, got it the first time."

"His behavior is as impudent as yours, Vala."

"Thanks!" she answered brightly. "I've taught him everything I know."

Daniel grimaced as he was cuffed across the back of his head, a startled cry revealing that Vala had just experienced the same treatment. "Okay, this is cute," he began, glaring over his shoulder at the brutes. "Now how about telling us why you dragged us out to--" he glanced around briefly "--a shack in the middle of _nowhere_?"

"_I_ will ask the questions," Blondie snapped. "What is your name?"

"Han Solo," he replied, "though it was Indiana Jones before the adoption." This time, a slight nod was his warning that he was about to get hit again. Lucky him, it came in the form of a boot to his ribs.

"Your name matters not. Vala, I'll put this in simple terms so that you will be unlikely to misinterpret them: where is the weapons shipment you stole from Arturis Maz?"

Vala blinked, all innocence. "Weapons shipment?"

Daniel let out an involuntary gasp as he was hauled to his feet, a solid punch connecting with his unprotected abdomen. As he doubled over, he managed to gasp out, "Oh, I did _not_ miss this." As his partner looked at him with wide eyes, he met her gaze and hoped she got the message that he was okay, and had had much worse. In fact, these guys were strictly _amateurs_ so far... not that he was about to offer any suggestions for improving their technique, of course.

"Forget it," Hadris announced from somewhere behind the prisoners. "Vala's a cold-hearted bitch who could care less what happens to any man in her company."

"Stay out of this," Blondie ordered. "Allow me to refresh your obviously-faulty memory. You and your paramour-of-the-moment, Arturis Maz, intercepted a shipment of Goa'uld weapons bound for Baal's armies. Since the Lucien Alliance had also staked a bid for the same cargo, we kindly offered you an immediate buyer for the weapons. A finder's fee, if you will. While Maz was aboard _my_ ship, negotiating the terms of the agreement, you opened fire on our engines and fled."

"Way to go," Daniel grinned, earning himself a back-handed slap.

Vala lifted her chin. "You'll have to give me a few more details, I'm afraid. I've stolen so _many_ ships over the years that--"

Blondie grabbed a fistful of the thief's hair and pulled down, tilting her head and spine back at an uncomfortable-looking angle. "Cease the games! Either reveal the location of the _al'kesh_ and its cargo or forfeit a prize of greater worth!"

"An _al'kesh_, you say! Well, why didn't you say in the first place?" she replied impudently.

"Tell me where it is."

Vala grinned cheekily. "I think it's called a 'black hole'."

Daniel choked back a snort of laughter. "Navigational error?"

"Tiny one," she agreed.

The Lucien leader wasn't impressed. "The truth!"

She rolled her eyes. "That _was_ the truth."

Daniel had only a split-second warning before one of the goons laid into him. His head was rocked back by a powerful punch to his jaw, shooting sparks across his vision and stealing his breath. There were three, perhaps four more blows after that, aimed at his ribs and belly.

"Why don't you go pick on somebody your own size?" he scowled, spitting blood from his split lip. "I know a few Unas who would _love _to--"

"_Silence!_" The leader's order was punctuated by a jab to Daniel's left kidney that buckled his knees. The only things holding him upright were the ogres standing behind him.

"Fine, I'll give you the coordinates," Vala seethed, "but you'd better give us back our gear and all the data crystals _you_ stole from _us_."

"You're in no position to negotiate."

She flipped her hair imperiously. "On the contrary, I _am_. I have something you_ need_ or your boss is going to come down on your head... and probably disconnect it from your shoulders, while he's at it. You, on the other hand, possess a few items of..."

"Passing, sentimental value?" Daniel suggested.

"Exactly."

Hadris stormed past, pushing Vala's attendant guard out of the way as he hauled the woman to her feet. "Was that all my brother was to you?" he snarled, putting his face only inches from hers.

Daniel blinked in surprise, shocked to see the un-scarred twin to the face that had haunted a few of his nightmares before the majority of his memory returned. He recognized the man's anguish, now, having seen it on the face of a young man whose father Teal'c had slain. He'd witnessed the same pained expression on the face in the mirror far too many times.

"Well, he was a pain in the ass and terrible in bed," the thief answered casually, outwardly unfazed by the bounty hunter's proximity.

Before the guard could stop him, Hadris Maz slapped Vala hard, sending her spinning to the ground. Two of the ogres tackled her attacker, then, wrestling with him while he cursed Daniel's partner, hurling several rather unpleasant epithets at her and vowing revenge.

Blondie was obviously displeased with the disruption, gesturing for the burly men to get rid of Hadris while he returned his attention to his prisoners. Clenching his jaw, he drew a knife from the top of his boot and approached Daniel. "Enough deception. Tell me where the weapons shipment is or your friend dies."

Daniel swallowed, feeling the edge of the blade resting uncomfortably close to his jugular. He met the Lucien's eyes squarely, challenging the man and letting him know he was not afraid. Blondie was briefly taken aback, perhaps believing anyone so close to death would be weak with fear.

Clearly, he'd never met anyone who had faced death as many times as Daniel had.

"All right," Vala began shakily. "I'll tell you."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whoops! Had some severe weather in the area, so I couldn't get online for a bit. My laptop should arrive on Thursday! 


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

"I don't get it."

"Don't get _what_ Daniel?" Vala sighed.

Although she couldn't see him, she could certainly hear him as he paced around the confines of his cell. "Why'd you steal the ship in the first place if you weren't going to sell the cargo yourself?"

She blew out an exasperated huff of air, leaning back against the wooden slats behind her. "This wasn't any ordinary weapons shipment. We're not talking zats or staves or anything simple like that. Baal had apparently drawn up some sort of plan to attack one or more of Anubis' strongholds, a plan which required a number of naquadah-enhanced explosives."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Arturis lied to _me_ and told me the _al'kesh_ we planned to commandeer was full of refined weapons-grade naquadah ore. After I discovered what was really aboard, I couldn't let him sell it to the Lucien Alliance."

Her partner heaved a frustrated sigh. "Let me guess: the Luciens would have used it to kill innocent people?"

Vala nodded, then realized he couldn't see _her_, either. "I won't pretend I'm some noble crusader for the unfortunate like _you_ are, Daniel, but I think I have a relatively unique stand-point for recognizing when a group of people plan to cause chaos and destruction just so they can get what they want. The Luciens are unscrupulous cowards, little more than a collection of thugs who've managed to get their hands on a few Goa'uld ships. They're also insanely jealous of the Hans and the little niche Kazo's ancestors managed to carve for the family in the galactic economy."

"The trade agreements that let them--and us--travel to any number of planets, right?"

"Correct. The Hans have one restriction to which the Luciens are not beholden, though, and that is the possession of armed ships."

"You mean that they aren't allowed to have them while the Luciens are."

"Well, the Luciens technically aren't either, but they don't consider themselves under Goa'uld rule." She cleared her throat. "In a way, the Hans are developmentally prohibited, much like planets protected under the Goa'uld treaty with the Asguard."

Daniel's pacing stopped. "Oh. So if we were to recover any advanced technology, Kazo would be forced to either hand it over to the System Lords or destroy it?"

"Or he could decide to keep it for himself and hope the Goa'uld never find out what he has or they'll destroy _him_. I've suspected for some time now that the reason the Hans won't give out the address to their planet to just anyone is because they have a few things they'd like to keep hidden."

"You could _definitely_ be onto something there," he agreed, boots scuffing against the floor as he resumed walking his cell's perimeter. "I know for a fact that there are worlds under the Asguard treaty that continue to develop technologically despite the agreement."

"Like the Tau'ri?"

"Uh, yeah." He coughed lightly. "So... what really happened to the weapons?"

Vala smiled. "I was telling the truth the _first _time. As far as I know, they're well on their way down the gullet of a black hole. Waste of a perfectly good _al'kesh_, but I couldn't have loaded those bombs onto the ring platform by myself to dispose of them any other way, and certainly couldn't safely detonate them. So I plotted a course that would take the ship out of hyperdrive as near to the event horizon of a black hole as I could manage, rigged the navigational computer on a timer, and ringed off the ship. If gravity hasn't already crushed the ship or torn it to shreds, it should soon."

"'Soon' being relative, of course," Daniel offered lightly. "Good grief, maybe I was around _Sam_ too much, too."

"What do you mean?"

There was a slight creak of wood as he likely stopped to lean against one of his own outer walls. "I'm not sure if I ever told you this or not, but scientifically speaking, Sam and I are complete opposites. She's into the 'hard sciences'--physics and geology and even biology--but I'm a 'soft sciences' guy... human behavior stuff. She's analytical and very methodical; I'm prone to following intuition and impulse. We'll both talk a problem to death, though."

"I'd never have guessed," Vala remarked dryly.

"Funny. So did you give them the correct coordinates or what?"

Vala shrugged. "It doesn't matter either way, really. He wouldn't believe the truth when I told him it, and... I couldn't let them keep on hurting you."

He exhaled heavily and was silent a moment. "You're probably not going to believe _me_, but on a scale of one to ten, where one is a stubbed toe and ten is... well, radiation poisoning, that barely rated a one-point-two."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, forgive _me_ for not knowing what your pain threshold is! But while I doubt the cut of a knife rates up there with radiation, it could _still_ kill you!"

Daniel made a noise of frustration. "And what happens the next time they threaten me to get you to talk about something you probably shouldn't? Are you just going to buckle under pressure again?"

"Of course not!" she snapped. "I gave them what they wanted only because I had nothing to lose and _everything_ to gain. They didn't know who you were and would have killed you just to prove a point. Then where would I be?"

"'Didn't know who I was'?" he repeated. "What's that mean?"

Vala mentally backpedaled, rising to her feet and making her way over to the bars between their cells. "Oh, we've had _this_ conversation before, and I think I'll nearly be repeating myself by saying that I _care _about you, you idiot! I don't have a great number of people in my life I actually like, and I'm not about to lose you... _especially_ not now that I know you like me, too!"

There was a shuffling sound as he changed position, then Daniel was right in front of her, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder and the other cupping her jaw. "I'm sorry. I forget sometimes that... that I'm not alone anymore."

"_I_ think that if you go back and really re-examine those memories of yours, you'll find out you haven't been 'alone' in a long time."

"Vala..."

"Don't 'Vala' me," she snapped, jerking away from his touch. "You're going to _listen _this time. It's one thing to be intentionally provoking our captors when they're not doing anything more menacing than slapping you around a bit. It's _entirely_ another when there's a knife to your throat and you're _still_ giving challenging looks. You can't play games with your life like that, Daniel!"

"It's my life!"

"Not if you throw it away, it isn't... and just how do you think I'd feel if you got yourself killed? How can you be so incredibly smart about some things and so ridiculously _stupid_ about others?"

Daniel let out a heavy sigh. "Because I am, as you've pointed out, a complete idiot. I--I don't... Vala, I've _died_ so many times already it's like it doesn't mean anything anymore. Hell, every time I let somebody get close to me, I lose _them_. It's like I'm cursed or something and I... I guess that's part of the reason why I tried so hard to not fall in love with you."

She felt like someone had just knocked her to the ground, her legs refusing to support her any longer. She slid to the ground, clutching at the bars for support. "Fall in _love_ with me?"

There was another creak of wood as he leaned back against a wall. "Yeah. I don't do things half-way any more, Vala, I can't. With Sarah and Sha're... they each had only half of me and maybe _that _was the problem. Some part of me always had my nose stuck in a book instead of--"

"Daniel, I would gladly take only half, if that's all you could give. I was content just to have you as my friend, but I'm positively _thrilled_ that I mean more to you than that. You got under my skin from the moment we met, but it wasn't until Jaya that I realized that what I felt for you was more. I panicked a little, actually."

"Panicked?"

"I'd never actually _loved _anyone other than my parents. My mother's been dead for nearly twenty years and my father... well, let's just say he proved to be a constant disappointment who was never around when Mother or I needed him. I guess you could say I'm just as messed up as you are."

Daniel gave a low chuckle. "What a pair we are."

They rested in companionable silence for a long time, the surrounding darkness not nearly as oppressive as it had been. Finally, Vala cleared her throat. "You know, all this emotional bonding would be a lot nicer if we weren't still trapped in this gods-forsaken cell."

"Yeah. How long to they plan to keep us here?"

She sighed. "Probably until they realize I wasn't joking about the black hole and come back to kill us."

"That sucks."

"Definitely. Of course, I'd be a lot happier if we found a way to escape before then. One of them apparently got _very_ friendly and took my lockpicks while we were unconscious. Do you think we could pry up the floor boards and dig ourselves a tunnel?"

He laughed. "_That_ would take a long time to do, especially since we don't have shovels or anything. Then there's the fact that the gaps between the boards seem to be..." He trailed off, then a sudden scrabbling noise was heard.

"Seem to be--what?" she prompted, wondering what he could be doing. Was that the sound of his belt buckle being unclasped?

"Thank you, Sam! They're sealed with dried _mud_," Daniel answered, a strange scraping sound accompanying his words. "I can't believe I didn't think of this _earlier_."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Think of what?"

"Earlier, there was something nagging me about a stupid movie Teal'c made the team watch once. Uh, movies are like a play that's been recorded so that you can watch it again. Anyway, after we all got tired of the horrible actors and worse plot, we started making up ways that someone else in the same situation would have handled it. I don't even remember what the scenario was, but Sam somehow came up with a reasonably logical way for her favorite action hero to use shoelaces, belt buckles, and a piece of gum to get out of it."

"And this helps us... how?"

"Because we're going to use our belt buckles to _dig_. Not the ground, of course, but the mud that's dried between the slats."

Apparently, he was making progress, as a spot of light began to show through where he had obviously been grinding away at the chinking between the boards. "What will that get us, then... besides air and light?" she asked, pulling off her own belt and diligently applying the corner of the buckle.

"These boards were fastened from the inside." There was a brief break in his scraping as he stopped to search the end of one of the planks. "It feels like they used wooden pegs to attach them to the posts on the _outside_ of the building. It won't be quiet, but if we can get enough of this mud cleared, we could possibly get our fingers between the boards and pull them off the wall."

Vala grinned as a sliver of evening light began to shine through the section on which she was working. "Genius."

"Thanks."

"Next step, then, is to take out the goons our blonde friend left here to guard us. Any guesses where our weapons and gear are?"

"Well, Hadris and Blondie took only the one _tel'tak_, so I hope our stuff is in the other one." Daniel had already made two wide gaps in the mud chinking, one hole on either side of the plank. He carefully slipped his fingers into the holes and gave the board an experimental tug. The end of the board popped free with only a slight squeak of the wood. "This might be easier than I thought," he grinned.

They worked quickly and quietly together until well after the sun had set, stopping only when their guards came to deliver their supper. Finally, Daniel had cleared away the bottom four boards of his section of wall and was able to pry them off and crawl through the gap. Once on the outside of the shack, he helped Vala to finish up her own chinking and pushed on the unencumbered slats as she pulled.

Armed with a loosened slat each, they approached the grounded _tel'tak_ and opened the hatch to the interior. The "ogres", as Daniel called them, were appallingly lax in their security and hadn't set a proximity alarm or established a watch. Instead, they were asleep in their cots on the floor of the cargo bay, zats only just _slightly_ out of reach. "Slightly" was more than enough for Vala. Before either man could register that they were neither alone nor armed, they were zatted and dragged off the ship.

"Too _easy_," she smirked to herself as she powered up the ship's systems. She hadn't expected brilliance from the Luciens, however, so wasn't about to complain.

Daniel, having returned from his inspection of the cargo hold, nodded in agreement. "As long as we get away, I don't care. Our stuff's back there, by the way."

She grinned and activated the engines, taking off from the planet's surface and heading for the darkness of space. Once safely out of the planet's atmosphere, she set a course for Katana and accelerated the ship into hyperdrive. Finally feeling safe in the streaky glow of the subspace corridor, she turned to her partner. "And _now_ we're pirates," she announced, reeling him in for a long-overdue kiss.

"Ow," he muttered when he was at last released from the embrace, looking slightly dazed. The bruise darkening his left jaw didn't help him look any steadier on his feet. "Okay, as enjoyable as that was, no more kissing 'til the split lip's better."

Vala pouted, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Want to go get the healing device out of my pack?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Okay, so the escape part of this installment feels a tad bit rushed to me, but I wanted to go ahead and get it in today! It took 20 chapters for them to decide to become pirates and another 20 chapters to "commandeer" their first ship! Any guesses what milestone we might achieve if it goes all the way to Chapter 60? Other than my collapse from complete exhaustion after publishing a chapter every weekday for two months... //evil grin// 


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

He traced the slightly-angular glyph once before pressing it down, the shape and the outline of the panel glowing from within as they were locked into place. Before he could over-think this too much, he quickly tapped the final symbol--the point of origin--and slammed the palm of his hand down on the red dome in the center of the device. A flood of blue swelled outward from the standing ring of stone before rushing back on itself and taking on the resemblance of a vertical pool of radiant water.

Daniel swallowed heavily, gazing longingly at the mesmerizing play of light rippling across the wormhole's event horizon. He couldn't fathom ever growing tired of seeing the Stargate come to life, bridging thousands of light years, permitting those vast distances to be crossed in a single step. This particular threshold could not be passed at this time, however, not without spelling certain doom at the other end of the connection. The address had come to him in a dream, had felt so terribly familiar and _normal_ as his fingers caressed each of the symbols before activating them.

After several long minutes, the wormhole snapped shut, some internal mechanism of the Ancient transportation device sensing that nothing was passing through the circle. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned around, preparing to trek down the hill and return to his _new_ home. Vala was all he needed now, not the memory of friendships which had once been. Despite the saucy thief's colorful history and occasionally-eccentric behavior, she was the woman with whom he had quite accidentally fallen in love. To his utter amazement and delight, his affections were returned. For the first time in what felt like a _long_ time, he was happy.

He couldn't figure out why she was lying to him, though, or what it was she was concealing.

_"They didn't know who you were,"_ she'd accidentally let slip, quickly changing the subject when he questioned her on it. Perfectly innocent words by themselves, but she'd said them as though she knew something more... something dangerous about the Luciens finding out who he was and his planet of origin. He was _Doctor_ Daniel Jackson, former member of SG-1, native of the planet Earth. He was Tau'ri and an archaeologist, linguist, and anthropologist. He was a former scholar and soldier, now a treasure hunter and aspiring space pirate. He could not possibly be someone so famous--or perhaps even infamous--that Vala would need fear the revelation of his very name could bring either of them harm.

Or was he?

He felt tremendously conflicted and distracted, having difficulty reconciling the actions of the woman he trusted with his life. He trusted her to watch his back and keep him somewhat stable and sane, but it was becoming apparent that she had taken her protective instincts a step further and was guarding something _from_ him. But what?

The front door of Sarilis Camir's repair shop banged shut behind him, announcing his return to the ladies currently picking over some random bit of junk found aboard Hadris Maz's personal _tel'tak_. Now, of course, the vessel was the property of Vala Mal Doran and Daniel Jackson. His partner looked up and smiled brightly in greeting, bouncing up from her chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, giving him a quick kiss. The older woman merely nodded his direction and returned her attention to dismantling the device on the table before her.

"Enjoy your walk?" Vala asked cheerfully.

"Yes. Can we talk in private?"

She recoiled slightly, perhaps not liking the expression on his face. He _thought_ he was maintaining a neutral expression, but he could have been wrong. "About what? We could go upstairs, if--"

He nodded quickly. "Yes, upstairs is fine. It's about something you said day before yesterday."

"Oh," she replied simply, spinning on heel and wrapping her arms around herself. He recognized the gesture as one of his own and mentally sighed. He had hoped to not make her feel defensive in any way, but it seemed he hadn't done a good job of it.

Once inside the bedroom, he pulled the door shut and grabbed one of the chairs from the table along the wall. Taking the other chair for her own, Vala seated herself on the opposite side of the table and primly clasped her hands together on the flat surface. "I realize I didn't exactly _say_ that I loved you in return," she began quickly, staring at her fingers, "but I _do_ you know."

"I know," he answered softly, scooting his chair as close to the table as possible and taking her hands in his. "That's not what I wanted to talk about, though."

"Oh."

Daniel sighed, knowing this could be difficult. "Now that we're... together, I think we should try to be as honest with one another as we possibly can. It's probably going to be us against the galaxy many times in the future, and I think it would be a lot easier if we... if we could ensure that another thing we can always count on between us is trust."

"Of course," she agreed, nodding solemnly. "Why are we bringing this up now? I've told you already that I trust you, Daniel."

"Do you? Because you've been lying to me, but I don't know for how long or why."

"Lying to you? What do you mean?"

He exhaled heavily. "The other day, you seemed to imply that if the Luciens had known who I was or where I came from that they wouldn't have been so quick to threaten to kill me."

"I didn't say that," she replied, frowning.

"You didn't really _have_ to say anything. It was what you _didn't_ say that bothered me, actually." He closed his eyes, then opened them. "Vala, do you know who I am?"

"Of course," she answered. "You're Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri, the man I love."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "That's not what I meant. I don't want to sound distrustful or anything, but I can't help but feel that you know something about me you're not telling."

Vala shook her head, but then stopped at the expression of disappointment he gave her. Her shoulders drooped as she slumped in her chair. "You're Doctor Daniel Jackson of SG-1, a team of Tau'ri warriors credited with the deaths of several well-known System Lords and who-knows-how-many minor Goa'uld."

He rubbed at the knots of tension along the back of his neck. "How did you find all this out about me?"

Now she looked truly miserable, drawing her feet up onto the edge of her chair and wrapping her arms around her knees. "From a Goa'uld-issue bounty marker. An old one, though, from before the Tok'ra reported you dead."

Despite himself, he felt his lips quirk. "Ah, yes. Aris Boch once told me I was worth about a day's rations."

Vala choked. "A day's rations of _what_? For everyone in the galaxy?"

"Well, he didn't specify, but--"

She gave a humorless bark of laughter. "Daniel, I have no idea when or where you might have met a notorious bounty hunter like Aris Boch, but I _can_ tell you that as of the issue of this last marker, you were quite likely the single-most valuable catch in the entire _galaxy_."

Daniel felt his jaw drop. "'Single-most valuable?'" he repeated numbly.

"Not much more than your Jaffa friend, Teal'c, but the Lucien Alliance would have been able to buy themselves a few _ha'tak_ by handing you over to the System Lords."

"You're kidding."

She shook her head. "And that was what you were worth _before_ you were reported dead. If word got out that you were actually alive and no longer under the protection of the rest of your team? There wouldn't be a hole deep enough on any planet galaxy to hide you from the opportunists who'd come to make a name and fortune for themselves. You would be hunted the rest of your life."

He couldn't believe it. He was a _scholar_, a scientist. What could he have possibly done to merit such obvious hatred from the most powerful rulers of the galaxy? Yet for all his incredulity, he was unable to deny the pained honesty in Vala's eyes, the terrible truth that she'd been concealing for who-knew-how-long in what he suddenly realized was a well-intentioned attempt to protect him from his own apparent notoriety.

"I only found out about it after mentioning the names of your friends to Sarilis," Vala admitted.

"Sarilis knows?"

"She's the one who showed me the marker. It was while you were having all those terrible flashbacks, Daniel. I actually went to tell you, but when I sat down beside you on the bed, you were just so happy to have remembered your surname that I made the decision to _not_ tell you. I am _so_ sorry, Daniel, I thought I was doing the right thing, but--"

"Hey," he interrupted, stretching across the table to grab one of her hands. "You did it to protect me, didn't you?"

"Yes. I was afraid that... well, I was afraid. I almost lost you on Jaya, and then you had all those horrible flashbacks, and then I... I thought maybe it would be too much for you to take in at once."

Daniel smiled sadly, thinking back on the muddled confusion that was the week following their return from Balin's homeworld. "You're probably right. I might also have not remembered you'd said anything and we'd still be right here, having this conversation. It might have been the wrong thing to do, but your heart was definitely in the right place."

Vala looked up at him, looking so hopeful he wanted to leap across the table and enfold her in a hug of reassurance. "Do you forgive me?"

"Absolutely," he agreed, giving her hand a squeeze. "There are some things _I've_ been keeping from you, too. Since we're shooting for honesty, I might as well go ahead and..."

"You don't have to," she quickly denied, shaking her head vehemently.

"I can't expect you to tell me the truth about everything and not do the same myself," Daniel replied. He drew a deep breath. "I remember almost everything now. When I took a walk just a little while ago, it was to go up to the Stargate and test out a few addresses I remembered. Most of them worked, too, including the one for Earth."

"Why didn't you--?"

"Because I don't have the necessary device or codes to get through the shield covering the Tau'ri 'Gate," he answered. "Most importantly, though--and I _know_ you need to hear this--I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave _you_."

"But Daniel, it's your _home_."

He squeezed her hand again. "My home is _here_. With you."

Vala looked happy enough to cry, and he wasn't so certain he wouldn't join her if she let the tears fall. "Daniel... that's... I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," he smiled. "There's something else, too. The Tok'ra weren't wrong in reporting me dead."

"But you _aren't_ dead."

"Not anymore. I actually wasn't to begin with, not really." He drew in a deep breath. "When the 'Gate Builders disappeared, not all of them died out, not completely. Some of them transcended their physical forms and became creatures of energy, of light. I met one of these Ancients on another planet once, and when I lay dying from radiation poison, she came to me and offered me the chance to Ascend, to be like them."

Vala's eyes widened. "And you accepted?"

"It was either that or risk permanent disability or even death," he answered. "I thought I could do more that way, too. I thought that becoming something that powerful would mean that I would have greater opportunity and ability to help those in need. I was wrong, and my wife's world paid the price. Anubis destroyed it."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. That might be why I came back to human form without my memory. Maybe I chose to leave, maybe I was punished and kicked out." He shrugged. "Either way, I don't plan to go back anytime soon."

This time Vala offered him a comforting squeeze. "Don't you at least want to contact your friends? If they've believed you to be dead all this time, won't they want to hear from you?"

He bit his lip in contemplation. "Maybe... maybe I can give a message to one of the Tok'ra and ask them to pass it along to the SGC."

"Daniel, you can't risk the Tok'ra finding out you're alive, either. If one of their operatives gets captured and interrogated..."

"I know, which is why I'll encrypt it. Something only my teammates are likely to understand."

"Are you sure that's all you want to do?" she asked, rising and walking around the table without letting go of his hand.

He pulled her down so that she was sitting across his lap and gave her a kiss. "You're all I need now. If I can give them a little closure, though, maybe it will help me..."

"Get over them, too?" she suggested, twisting her upper torso so that she was mostly facing him.

"Something like that," he agreed.

She smiled then, leaning in for another kiss. When she pulled back, though, she stroked a finger down his cheek. "First thing we're going to do," she began, "is shave this beard."

"I thought you liked it."

"I only asked you to keep it because I thought it would change your appearance, make it a little less likely for someone to recognize you. I don't think it helps all that much, though." She scrunched up her nose. "Besides, it's all scratchy when I kiss you."

"Consider it gone," he promised.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//happy grin// Honesty abounds! At least between Daniel and Vala, anyway. And buh-bye beard! I know some of you are sad to see it go, but I much prefer a clean-shaven Daniel... or maybe that scruffy few days' growth from "Beneath the Surface" //purrs//

Oh, yes, and this was the first chapter written ENTIRELY from my new laptop!


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The cold snap of the fresh mountain air awakened his senses like nothing he had ever experienced on any other world. For as much as Colorado Springs had become home these last several years, Teal'c knew nothing would ever take Chulak's place as the land in which he had grown from a child to a man. It was the planet where his own son had been born, though Rya'c had lived for many years in the Land of Light. A smile graced his lips when he caught sight of the armor-clad form of his elderly mentor, Master Bra'tac.

"Teal'c!" the older Jaffa greeted, smiling in return. "It is good to see you again, old friend."

"Likewise," he agreed, firmly grasping the proffered arm in the traditional warrior's greeting. "What was the nature of the emergency?"

Bra'tac leaned on his staff weapon. "Our brethren among the ranks of Ramius and Tilgath have yet to report. The two False Gods were to meet and discuss the possibility of forming an alliance, and I fear some ill has befallen our brothers."

Inwardly, Teal'c sighed. It wasn't as though he cared nothing for the fate of his fellow Jaffa rebels, but that the smaller targets--the lesser goals--sometimes seemed to dominate the time he had available. There were greater tasks to accomplish, he knew, and longed for the day when he could take part in a final, noble battle to overthrow the rule of the System Lords.

Unfortunately, in the last several months, these minor battles were nearly all in which he could become engaged. Certainly, helping the female Jaffa of Moloc to overcome their dependence on symbiotes had been rewarding and rescuing his son and mentor from imprisonment on Erebus had been personally important, but it was difficult to be content with such universally-insignificant victories when so much more was at stake.

It was not his place to question Bra'tac's methods, however. The older Jaffa was far wiser than Teal'c felt he ever could be, and constantly reminded him that sometimes, it was the smaller blow that felled a mighty opponent. He knew this in his heart, but also knew that it often took many hundreds of tiny strikes to fell a many-headed beast such as the System Lords. Rather than voice his pessimism, however, he dutifully followed his teacher through the newly-opened wormhole. Once on the other side, Bra'tac wasted no time in directing them toward the boulder field which was to have been the place of meeting for the two minor Goa'uld.

"You seem unusually quiet today," Bra'tac observed.

"I am restless," Teal'c answered at last, having taken time to consider his response. "Two days ago, we held a celebration for Jonas Quinn at O'Neill's residence. It was in honor of a full Earth-year as a member of SG-1."

"Upon your return, extend to him my congratulations."

He inclined his head. "I will."

The older Jaffa seemed to study him carefully for a moment. "Yet this celebration does not make you happy."

"It has been three months since we last heard word of Daniel Jackson.O'Neill has become most concerned that ill may have befallen him."

"As do you."

Teal'c nodded again. "As do I."

Bra'tac returned his regard to the path before them. "The man I once believed to have been a puny weakling has often proved to be more resourceful and cunning than I would ever have suspected. Trust in him again, Teal'c. When he is ready to return to the Tau'ri, I am confident he will find a way to do so."

Again, he knew the wisdom in his master's words, but reconciling such things with his heart was difficult. The last they had known of Daniel Jackson was that he held little memory of his past and likely no way to defend himself should one of the System Lords discover him. O'Neill's greatest fear was that Anubis--whom his Ascended friend had left to confront before the destruction of Abydos--would learn of Daniel Jackson's return to the living, and see it as an opportunity to seize him. SG-1 knew from their experience with Thor's abduction that the half-Ascended Goa'uld possessed technology which could extract information directly from a victim's mind. All that Daniel Jackson was or ever had been would then be in the hands of the most evil creature in the galaxy.

The crunch of gravel underfoot sounded astonishingly loud to Teal'c's ears, and he cast a glance at Master Bra'tac, a frisson of disquiet surging through him. The older Jaffa returned his look with a nod, confirming that he, too, felt the same sense of unease. Moving more quickly, they broke through the cover of the trees to emerge upon a scene of utter devastation.

Perhaps as many as fifty or sixty Jaffa had been slain, strewn about the field like a spoiled child's broken toys. In mixed shock and horror, Teal'c found himself looking at each of the dead, hoping to not see a familiar face. He knew such wishes were futile, as his brothers would surely have reported to Master Bra'tac had they survived.

"These warriors are of both Ramius and Tilgath," he observed.

"This meeting did not go well," Bra'tac agreed.

Master Bra'tac had a gift for understatement. "Some of these warriors have been shot in the back. They were killed while retreating." In fact, one of those who had been slain in such a cowardly manner was a Jaffa he had meet a handful of weeks before, when he first informed the rebellion's leaders of his Goa'uld master's impending negotiations.

"There was no honor in the battle," Bra'tac observed, casting about again. He crossed to where a figure in golden armor lay. "Tilgath."

"Ramius must have betrayed his allegiance."

Bra'tac didn't look convinced. He turned his head once more, apparently lighting on something--no, some_one_ for whom he had been searching. "The First Prime of Ramius."

Teal'c crouched beside the fallen Jaffa, noting the blood staining his head, neck, and chest. He was propped against one of the many stones, and when Bra'tac touched his shoulder, he started slightly.

"He is alive."

The First Prime must have recognized them, which did not surprise Teal'c. There weren't many former First Primes of Apophis, after all. "You must go from this place," the wounded Jaffa begged.

"Why did your master betray Tilgath?" Bra'tac demanded. "Speak!"

"We came to forge an alliance. My master did not do this. He barely escaped alive."

Teal'c frowned. Had Ramius then betrayed his own warriors? If so, the coward deserved to die as painfully as his own First Prime was now dying. "Then what happened here?"

"One warrior--" he began, but was cut off by an agonized grunt as a flash of light struck him in the side.

The Jaffa rebels turned in surprise, witnessing the arrival of a single, black-clad figure. The armor on the creature was fierce-looking but impractical, designed more for intimidation than protection, he decided. Raising his staff, Teal'c took aim and leveled a shot at the unknown warrior, noting out of the corner of his eye that Bra'tac had also fired. Both blasts impacted with no discernable effect.

Stunned, Teal'c dove for cover as the warrior raised its arm again, firing the deadly energy weapon mounted on its wrist. A dozen rapidly-fired bolts flew past his hiding place, amazing him with the speed with which they were launched. Clearly, this was the warrior which had slain all the Jaffa who lay dead on this battlefield.

Bra'tac then rushed the creature, hoping to knock it off-balance with a well-aimed swing of his staff. Instead, the venerable Jaffa was disarmed and cast aside as though he were no more than a fly being swatted from the air. Its assault on Teal'c's position resumed, apparently unconcerned by the many ineffectual shots striking the boulder behind which Teal'c was attempting to conceal himself.

Desperately seeking a way to stop the onslaught, he drew his zat and spun about, discharging his weapon to no avail. Still, he continued to fire, hoping that at least _one_ of the strikes could get through before the hail of energy raining toward him finally hit.

Suddenly, the warrior dropped its arm, swayed, and fell. Scarcely daring to believe he had managed to stop the creature, Teal'c cautiously rose from cover, exchanging a look of disbelief with Master Bra'tac.

"What manner of beast is this?"

Teal'c shook his head, carefully approaching the downed enemy. "I do not know. Never before have I encountered such a thing."

"Nor have I, though it possesses a Goa'uld," Bra'tac began, nudging at an armor-clad leg. "I sensed the symbiote's presence when it tossed me about as though I were a toy."

Troubled, Teal'c placed a hand atop the being's back, tuning his senses for the faintest sign of breath, the slightest heartbeat. "I believe it to be dead." He looked up at his mentor. "We should contact the Tau'ri. They will wish to study the creature and its protective armor."

"I have a feeling this will not be the last of these we encounter," Bra'tac agreed. "A more efficient means of stopping these warriors must be found. I will stay and guard its body while you retrieve the humans."

Nodding, Teal'c picked up his staff and jogged back to the Stargate, puzzling over the implications of the nearly-unstoppable foe. If Bra'tac was correct--and he almost always was--then this was but the first of many such battles that would be fought against this formidable new enemy.

Perhaps it was _not_ so new, he suddenly realized. Had it been only a month since Jacob Carter had informed the Tau'ri of rumors that Anubis was developing new armor and weapons for his Jaffa? If so, this was the proof that his plans had borne fruition. Feeling an even greater sense of urgency for his friends to learn as much of this creature as possible, he quickened his stride and was soon dialing the 'Gate.

He quickly outlined the situation for General Hammond, requesting the services of an SG team to return the body of the warrior for examination by the Tau'ri scientists. He waited until the requested men arrived, then escorted them back to the battlefield. With his and Master Bra'tac's help, the armored figure was strapped onto a stretcher and returned to the Stargate as though its corpse was the catch of a hunting expedition.

Unsurprisingly, Major Carter, Jonas Quinn, and General Hammond awaited their arrival at the bottom of the SGC's 'Gate Room. The science half of SG-1 gathered around the body of the alien warrior, doubtlessly leaping to conjectures and theories far faster than Teal'c could ever manage.

"What the hell happened out there?" demanded the general.

"Our intelligence was indeed correct," Teal'c began, filling in the details he had omitted in his haste to secure the fallen warrior's body. He wasn't about to admit that some of his unease came from only recently having watched zombie movies with O'Neill until the early hours of the morning. There was something about the _feel_ of this warrior that was just felt wrong. "The summit between Ramius and Tilgath did take place. However when we had arrived, Ramius had already fled."

"All those men had been slain, including Tilgath," Bra'tac added.

"By this one man alone?"

The elderly Jaffa looked grim. "From the way he fought us, I do not doubt it."

"An Ashrak?" General Hammond guessed, perhaps recalling the devastation wrought on the Alpha Site several months ago. A single Goa'uld Ashrak had nearly succeeded in destroying the tenuous peace the Tau'ri were attempting to keep between the Rebel Jaffa and the Tok'ra.

Teal'c didn't believe that was the case, however. The Ashrak were typically more subtle in their means, preferring to strike from hiding. "He was unlike any warrior we have previously encountered."

"You got him, though," Jonas Quinn observed.

"He withstood the brunt of our weapons fire before finally succumbing."

Major Carter nodded. "Its armor must protect it from energy-based weapons. If that's the case then we could be dealing with an entirely new kind of technology."

Suddenly, the Stargate activated, the diminutive sergeant in the Control Room quickly activating the iris in case the incoming wormhole was from a hostile. There was a long moment of tension as the gathered SGC personnel awaited confirmation of an iris deactivation code. Just as Teal'c began to wonder if this was another false activation like the one they'd received only a few days before, the 'Gate Room was informed that the Tok'ra signal had been confirmed.

The iris slid out of the way, and moments later Jacob Carter stepped through the event horizon. "What's with the party?" he asked upon seeing the gathering at the base of the ramp.

"That's what _I_ want to know," added O'Neill, finally arriving in the 'Gate Room himself.

"Nice of you to join us, Colonel," General Hammond remarked with slight amusement. "Jake, perfect timing."

Bra'tac stepped forward and offered his arm in greeting to his Tok'ra counterpart. "I am pleased to see you well."

Teal'c smiled to himself as Major Carter's father returned the gesture. Although the "oldest and wisest" of the Tok'ra and the elderly Jaffa master had grown to respect one another after the Ashrak's attack on the Alpha Site, it wasn't until recently that they'd become friends. Jacob Carter had defied his superiors within the Tok'ra to bring news of Bra'tac and Rya'c's capture on Erebus and the means by which to defeat the planet's defenses. The elderly Jaffa had been near-death from lack of the life-sustaining drug tretonin, and had since vowed to one day return the favor to his new-found friend.

"So... what's with Darth Vader?" Jacob Carter asked.

"That's what _I_ want to know," O'Neill repeated, bouncing on his toes slightly.

The comparison to the fictional Dark Jedi was fairly apt, visually. Quickly, Teal'c summarized the situation, trusting in his Tau'ri friends to fill in their own observations as needed.

"I was actually going to ask for your help figuring out what makes this guy tick," Major Carter finished, looking eager to solve her newest scientific mystery.

"Oh, then it's a good thing I decided to come when I did, especially if this is one of Anubis' new warriors, as Teal'c suspects." The Tok'ra shook his head. "The reason I came, actually, was to deliver a message. One of our less-reliable contacts gave a message to one of our field operatives, requesting it be personally delivered to SG-1." He shrugged. "I intercepted, using it as an excuse to come for a visit."

Major Carter grinned. "What's the message, Dad?"

"Well, she told us to tell the four of _you_ that Doctor Lazarus says 'Never give up; never surrender.'"

Teal'c cocked his head to one side as O'Neill replied, "Well, _that_ sounds familiar."

"Indeed it should," Teal'c replied. "It is from _Galaxy Quest_."

"Except that that's the catch-phrase of Commander Taggert, not Doctor Lazarus," Major Carter added. "Doctor Lazarus had that 'by Grabthar's Hammer' line, instead."

"It's from a TV show?" Jacob Carter asked, incredulous.

"A movie," Teal'c corrected, "although it was a film about a fictional television show."

"I haven't seen it, I guess," Jonas sighed, looking disappointed. Teal'c made a mental note to rent the DVD again, as he was certain his fellow alien team member would find the movie quite entertaining.

O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "It was a team night pick a few years back, I think."

"That's ironic," Major Carter mused aloud. "A major plot point of the movie is that these aliens intercepted transmissions of the television show _Galaxy Quest_ and took them for documentaries instead of entertainment. Now we're receiving a message from someone offworld who's familiar with a recent science fiction movie?"

"It's Daniel," O'Neill announced suddenly. "It can't be Maybourne, because he would have sent something even _more_ cryptic involving some buddy-cop show or movie. Daniel would know we've all seen that movie--or at least three of us have."

"Then Daniel Jackson has remembered who he is," Teal'c realized, hope swelling within him. It seemed that despite all the odds, his friend was still out there.

"Of course," the major agreed, nearly vibrating with a new level of excitement that had nothing to do with her pending experimentation. "_Doctor_ Jackson, Doctor Lazarus."

"Lazarus referring to the fact that he's retaken human form," Jonas Quinn guessed.

"So why didn't he just ask the Tok'ra to send him back here instead of giving a message to somebody else to give a message to you guys?" O'Neill asked.

Jacob Carter shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Maybe he just wanted to open a line of communication first," The Kelownan suggested.

"He _could've_ just come home."

Bra'tac cleared his throat. "Perhaps he is presently unable, O'Neill, but wished to inform you of his continued health, and that you should not 'give up' on him."

"Fine. Jacob, can we send a message back to him that tells him to get his ass back here on the double?"

The Tok'ra chuckled, shaking his head. "We can try. The contact who first gave us the message is considered unreliable because she'd occasionally quite difficult to find. I don't think she trusts us--"

"Smart lady," O'Neill quipped.

"--And from what I hear I can't really blame her," he continued. "She used to be a host to a Goa'uld until one of our operatives removed the symbiote. She refused to help the Tok'ra by continuing to pretend to be the minor Goa'uld she had been possessed by, and was left behind to deal with the anger of the former slaves under the Goa'uld's rule."

Major Carter frowned. "She's lucky to still be alive."

"Forget about here!" O'Neill exclaimed. "Jacob, you and the major have yourselves a good time with the freaky soldier over there _after_ we dial up your Tok'ra friends and give them a message to send back to this former host chick."

"Well, what message should we leave for him?" General Hammond asked.

Teal'c knew that if Daniel Jackson was being deliberately cryptic, then it was likely he had reason to be. The return message, then, should be something which only he could interpret. For a moment, he considered a possible pop-culture reference in exchange, but one could never be certain what movies or TV shows the linguist remembered. "Perhaps we should simply inform him that the fastest way home is to retrace Theadan's path."

"Makosis," Jonas Quinn agreed. "Hopefully, Atrus still has the GDO we gave him."

"He does," O'Neill replied, coughing lightly. Teal'c thought that it was perhaps to cover a slight rough quality which had begun to develop in his voice.

Teal'c understood. He found it difficult to speak further himself. Bowing his head, he excused himself to the infirmary for his post-mission check, intending to shower and return to his quarters for an unnecessary but comforting session of _kel'nor'eem_. While he was at it, he would also offer his thanks to whatever true gods were out there that his friend was safe.

"Return swiftly, Daniel Jackson," he smiled to himself.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
This chapter wouldn't stop! It's TWICE the length of most other chapters... oh well...

For those of you who celebrate/observe Easter, HAPPY EASTER!


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

"This affords you a considerable advantage," Kazo mused aloud, swirling the wine in his cup.

"Well, it certainly works for me and Daniel," Vala agreed. "My only concern is if the Goa'uld learn that two of your people possess an armed ship. The bounty hunter who last owned it outfitted it with energy cannons from a death glider. Not the most original configuration I've ever seen, but it'll let us defend ourselves... maybe."

Yuna smiled across the table. "The way I see it, there's no solid evidence that _you_ are directly employed by us, Miss Vala. Perhaps it is _your _ship, and you are merely offering your Han friend a ride."

Kazo chuckled. "Clever as always, my dear. Unfortunately, if Miss Vala is attempting to explain the ownership of the _tel'tak_ to the Goa'uld, she and Master Daniel are already in grave danger."

Vala stilled, sensing there was something hidden in that statement. Even before she'd been forced to admit to Daniel that she'd known who he was for only slightly longer than he had, she'd begun to suspect that the Hans also knew more than they were telling. For people who supposedly traded in information as well as material goods, how could they not? Still, she was unwilling to directly confront them, and had now been handed the perfect opportunity to approach the topic. "How so?"

The Hans exchanged a startled glance. "The Goa'uld don't take kindly to _former _hosts," Yuna replied at length.

"Of course not. But you said me _and_ Daniel. With that amulet around his neck, why wouldn't _he_ be free to go?"

Husband and wife shared another uncomfortable look, but before either could reply, a new voice asked, "How long?"

Vala turned to greet her partner, finally arriving in the family dining room. He had a pair of scrolls tucked under one arm and a tattered piece of parchment in hand.

"Pleased are we that you could join us!" Kazo boomed heartily gesturing to the empty chair at Vala's side.

"Thanks," Daniel answered, dropping his documents on the table and taking a seat. "Now... how long have you known who I was?"

To her credit, Yuna had the grace to look mildly embarassed. "We began to make... discreet inquiries after you demonstrated your linguistic capability. At first it was merely to learn what world could possibly produce someone with such diverse knowledge. As all other sources and theories failed, a final inquiry was directed to the Tok'ra. After much gentle prompting, they revealed the name of their first choice when it came to dialects and cultures they did not understand. To their chagrin, the translator was now lost to them, having been killed saving another world from doom."

"Of course," Vala's partner remarked dryly, taking a drink from the cup of wine that had been waiting for him. "I suppose they had a picture of me, too?"

Kazo raised an eyebrow, but shook his head. "The combination of their description and your given name was enough, though we still were not completely certain until you revealed the recovery of your surname." He leaned back in his chair slightly. "That is why you two have been invited only to small family gatherings and none of the larger festivities to which representatives from our trading partners are invited. To take a former Goa'uld host under our protection has been dangerous enough. If the Goa'uld were to discover we also sheltered one of the most sought-after Tau'ri..."

"It would be the end of the Han way of life," Yuna finished.

"Then why employ us at all?" Vala asked. "If having us among you is so dangerous, why take the chance?"

"Because great risks reap great gains," the patriarch replied. "You and Master Daniel have proven this time and time again. Was it not yesterday that you returned with yet more treasures from the fabled vaults of Peklenc? Did you not also bring a wealth of knowledge from the experiments of a nearly-forgotten Goa'uld?"

"Knowledge which _should_ be used to reverse the genetic manipulations so that the people of her world won't have to deal with the deaths of so many of their male infants," Daniel reminded them. "To that end, it needs to be shared with the Jayans or the Tok'ra or... or better yet, the Asguard. _Do_ you have a means of contacting the Asguard?"

Kazo shook his head. "Sadly, we do not, and because this data is encoded in Goa'uld, I'm afraid it would do the Jayans little good."

"And the Tok'ra will help only if it serves their purpose," Vala scoffed. So much for Daniel's idealistic dreams. She hated to destroy his hopes for nobly attempting to help another world, but his intentions hadn't been terribly realistic in the first place.

"Then contact the Tau'ri, give it to them," he pressed onward, dauntless. "Even if we--_they_ can't do anything with it, at least _they_ have the option of contacting the Asguard and passing it along themselves."

"Why do you not contact your people yourself?" asked Yuna.

"Because I can't."

Vala nearly gasped at the blatant lie. She couldn't figure out for the life of her why Daniel was so hesitant to communicate with his own people. He could have easily given cryptic message for his friends to the Tok'ra himself, but had insisted that Vala be the one to speak for him.

They'd received the Tau'ri reply via transmission from Sarilis after they'd left Katana for Peklenc's temple. The message was clear: Daniel's people had been to Makosis and were inviting him to return to them. Despite Vala's assurances that he would be welcomed, he seemed hesitant to contact his world further.

If it weren't for the fact that he'd proven himself to be the bravest man she'd ever met, she would think Daniel was somehow _afraid_ to return to his homeworld. That had never sat with her well, and now that she thought about it, it was long-past time they discussed his recalcitrance.

This "trust" thing went both ways, after all.

"We're wandering off-topic," Daniel cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm... annoyed... that you knew who I really was all this time and didn't bother to tell me. You didn't stop to check to see if maybe _I_ still didn't know and needed a little help recovering my memories. They're almost all back now, thanks by the way."

Vala sucked in a breath. My, was _someone_ in a mood! Not that she could blame him, though. All Daniel had strived for from the moment he left Makosis was to learn who he was. Now that he had, he was understandably upset that everyone around him--everyone he'd placed his trust in--had deliberately withheld that very information from him. Vala had already apologized profusely for her own deceptions, grateful that Daniel had seemed to accept her reasoning and forgive her.

"We can only extend to you our most sincere apologies," Kazo replied softly. "We won't make any excuses, Master Daniel, as our needs were--frankly--quite selfish. It was our concern that once you recalled your past, you would return to the Tau'ri and your skills would no longer be available to us."

"My 'skills' are barely in use as it is," Daniel retorted. "Sure, I translate things and occasionally draw on my knowledge of history and mythology. But just like... just like my team... my _former_ team, you seem to forget that I'm an _archaeologist_. I should be _preserving_ the past, not selling it to the highest bidder!"

Vala laid her hand on her partner's forearm, surprised at his vehemence. "We've talked about this before--"

"No, we didn't. We _started_ to, but it turned into a joke about preserving it for _us_." He shook his head. "Look, _I'm_ sorry. I know I should be grateful to you all for giving me somewhere to go and a way of life while I figured out who I was, I just..."

"You're just upset that we're trying to make you something you aren't?" she guessed.

"If there was _any_ other way we could utilize your skills," Yuna offered, "we would certainly extend it to you. Unfortunately, you're too, well, _valuable_ to risk in any other way."

"I risk my life every time I walk through that 'Gate," Daniel answered. "Vala's too. I'd just like to think the risk was worth something other than material gain. In all honesty, the full scope of Peklenc's treasures could probably allow me and Vala to retire comfortably off the proceeds, but... well, let's just say I don't think either of us is the type to just sit still and do _nothing_."

"You got that right," Vala agreed. Where was Daniel hoping to take this conversation?

"Trust me, there's nothing more I'd like to do than dig my heels in at the ruins of some ancient civilization and uncover all the secrets of some long-forgotten society. Vala would be bored to tears, though. What I think we need to do, instead, is take a more active role in the resistance against the Goa'uld."

Kazo looked genuinely surprised, once again looking to Yuna, perhaps seeking guidance or approval. Whatever he was hoping to find, he cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat. "Why not rejoin your Tau'ri friends?"

Daniel grimaced. "Because I'm not sure... I don't... The last time I saw any of them, I screwed up big time. I want to at least _try _to make some things right before I go to them again. Things were a bit strained even before I--before, and I have a new path to follow now. Again." He reached out and laced his fingers with Vala's. "The people of my world haven't always been the most tolerant of others. I won't take Vala anywhere she won't be welcomed, and I won't go without her."

"You don't know I won't be welcomed," she reminded him.

"Is it worth being locked up, interrogated, and dissected, like what Tarchios Marson intended to do on Jaya? For that matter, we don't even know how they'll react to _me_. I'm not exactly the same as I was... before."

Mind made up, Vala tugged on his hand, standing up from her own chair. "Come on," she insisted, pulling him toward the usually-empty sun room just off the dining hall. "Pardon us for a moment, please, but I believe Daniel and I have a few things to discuss."

He frowned, allowing himself to be dragged to his feet but budging no further. "Like what?"

"Your favorite thing to talk about, Daniel," she answered, grabbing him by the belt and hauling him toward the solarium door. "_Trust_."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Ugh. This chapter just would _not_ go anywhere near where I wanted it to go, so I hacked it off, re-wrote it, hacked it off, wrote it again... sigh So instead, it ended up going practically nowhere, though you can be sure Vala's going to give Daniel a piece of her mind in tomorrow's installment. 


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

"Vala, wait!"

Unperturbed, the thief gave one last firm tug on her reluctant partner's belt, yanking him into the Han's sun room. She pulled the door shut behind him, then turned around to face her flustered companion. "Sit down, Daniel."

"Vala--"

"Sit down!" she ordered, pointing at the padded wicker chair next to the long bank of windows. No one was more surprised than she when he promptly folded his legs and collapsed into the cushions.

"Okay, I'm sitting. What in the--"

"I don't want to hear it, Daniel." She began to pace. "I'll be the first to admit, there haven't been many people I've let get close to me. You know that, we _have_ had _that_ conversation. What you may not know is that I will do my utmost to defend anyone whom I care about greatly. There's a problem, though, when the person who is insulting and demeaning the person I care about the most _is_ the person I care about the most." She whirled around, planting her hands on either side of his chair and leaning in close. "To use one of your curious little Tau'ri expressions: knock... it... off!"

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "How can it be demeaning if it's true?"

"Because it isn't fair."

"Life's not--"

"Fair," she finished. "Big deal. Fair is what you make it."

"Uh, the expression is '_life_ is what you make it'."

"Whatever. The point _is_, Daniel, from the very _hour_ we met, you've been cutting yourself down--belittling yourself--and I'm _sick_ of it."

He frowned, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at his knees. "Well, I'm _sorry_ if my attitude isn't quite up to your standards. Maybe I'm just realistic about--"

Vala grabbed him by the chin and turned him toward her. "Realism has nothing to do with it when all _you_ see are your own faults and never any of your many strengths. So you 'screwed up' on Abydos... so what? You're only human, Daniel. Granted, at the time, you were something slightly more-than-human, but being an Ascended didn't make you impotent, did it?"

He flushed. "Uh, I think you mean 'omnipotent'."

"Whatever. Did it give you the ability to see the future?"

"No, but--"

"So you couldn't know what would happen. You made a _mistake_. _I_ made a mistake when I didn't tell you about the bounty marker. If you were any less forgiving or generous, you might have held that against me. My reasons for doing it were purely selfish, and I'm going to stop pretending I was _protecting_ you. Maybe that was part of it, but I was afraid of where I stood with you, that if you found out who you were and where you came from, you'd leave me and I'd be right back to the miserable, barely-surviving wreck I was before we met."

"I've abandoned enough people in my life, Vala, I'm not about to--"

"Oh, yes, I'm sure it was always _you_ abandoning everyone else," she replied, dripping with sarcasm. "Because you _never_ seem to be able to give anyone a second chance. Right."

"Okay, so maybe I haven't _always_ walked out on everyone, but I promise I _won't_ do that to you."

She straightened up and resumed pacing. "Yes, well, I know that now. I didn't know--or at least not for sure--when I first found out about the marker. By not telling _you_, I would be the only one to have to worry about bounty hunters popping up around every corner or keeping your face hidden from Jaffa or Goa'uld." She stopped and flopped heavily on the divan across from his chair. "You'd just begun to come out of all those non-stop flashbacks, so I figured why give you something _else_ to worry about, right? At least I could tell myself it was the right thing to do."

Vala exhaled heavily, throwing her arm over her face dramatically. "Too bad I didn't check with you to find out what _you_ wanted. Maybe if I'd told you what I knew like Sarilis told me to, we'd have already contacted your people and maybe swung by for a visit. Maybe you'd have rediscovered everything you lost and stayed."

Daniel echoed her sigh. "And if... Vala, we probably wouldn't be together _now_ if you had told me where I came from then, before I knew what I'd done, what I'd been. Yes, I'm still a little upset you didn't tell me, but I _did_ forgive you for it."

She smirked inwardly. "So you agree that it worked out for the best in the end?"

"I guess so, yes."

Triumphantly, she sat up, grinning at him. "Then maybe whatever 'mistake' you made will work out for the best, too."

He froze. "You don't understand... because I haven't told you. Again. I gave the Eye of Ra to Anubis. The final piece to the superweapon he used to destroy Abydos and who knows _how_ many other worlds since then? I _gave _that to him. Tell me how that isn't a colossal mistake!"

Vala felt like she'd been slapped. "You must have had a good reason. You don't do _anything_ without thinking it through forty different ways."

"Funny, since Jack always accused me of being impulsive and reckless."

"Maybe when it comes to your _personal_ safety," she snorted. "Baiting the Luciens the way you did proved that. You had a plan, I know it."

Daniel sighed and slouched further in his chair. "There was a tablet written in Ancient. It spoke of a Lost City, a great bastion of power for the 'Gate builders. I gave it to Jonas--he's the guy that took my place on the team--and Sam, told them to guard it and take it back to Earth. I told them they could use it to find this Lost City and all the wonders that it held and _maybe_ find a way to defeat Anubis."

"Anubis is still out there," Vala answered. "The Tok'ra were able to destroy his big world-killing weapon, by the way."

"Yeah, I remember Shao saying that the first time we were here." He sighed. "I can't go back to my world until I've fixed what I did wrong. Obviously, I can't restore a world that Anubis destroyed, but maybe I _can_ find a way to take back... to correct the mistake I made. I failed so many times, and the one time when it really, _really _mattered, I screwed up again and... well, I can only hope that my team made it off Abydos before it was destroyed."

"But didn't the message you sent to them confirm that?" Vala asked, confused.

He shook his head. "It only proved that _somebody_ back on Earth had watched the same movie. That _someone_ from there had visited Makosis." He smiled wistfully. "If Jack had been there and really wanted me to come back? He'd have said so. Actually, he probably would have made the Tok'ra lead him to me so that he could drag me back through the 'Gate, kicking and screaming."

Vala chuckled, knowing she was just going to _love_ Jack. "I'll bet he tried but was overruled by someone else. Maybe he's there right now, staring at the Stargate on your planet and plotting a thousand ways to kick your butt when he hears how much pointless self-doubting you've done. I'll bet he's wondering when you're going to come home."

"My home is--"

"On the planet of your birth, and don't even try to say otherwise," she interrupted. "Now, I'll be happy to go with you when--_when_ you finally decide to stop wallowing in guilt, but until then, I want you to stop treating yourself so harshly. See the man that _I_ see, that everyone _else _sees. The Hans and I think you're brilliant, yet you don't think you're suited for anything but digging in the dirt. Maybe that's what you _like_ to do, but certainly isn't the greatest use of your capabilities."

She stood, crossing the short space between them. She kicked a footstool into place so she could sit directly in front of him, their knees brushing. "Maybe the problem isn't that you've been unwillingly molded and shaped into something you're not, but rather that you've been guided into becoming what you were always meant to be."

"A treasure hunter? A space pirate?"

"Well, as much fun as it is to call ourselves pirates and buckle swashes and all, you and I _both_ know that neither of us is callous or cold-hearted enough to be a _real_ pirate. Treasure hunting's fun, too, but let's face it: finding the lost necklace of some long-dead Goa'uld isn't exactly a galactic event. And if you think that _you've_ been forced to adapt into the roles people think you ought to fill, remember that _you_ mold and shape the people you meet, too. Now, I can only speak for myself, but you've certainly changed me for the better."

"I haven't--"

Vala rolled her eyes. "Yes, you have, so stop arguing with me. From this day forward, I hereby vow to compliment and tease all the embarrassment out of you until you _finally_ start to believe in yourself. And since space pirate and treasure hunter aren't really 'your thing', do you want to know what we're going to do instead, Daniel?"

He sighed. "What?"

"We're going to go find your Lost City."

Daniel blinked in surprise. "We are?"

"You bet, and when we find it, we're going to call your friends back on Earth and you're going to tell them that you're sorry for being such an idiot and not going home the minute you found out where home was."

"Vala..."

"And _then_ you're going to tell them what we've found and how it will help them defeat Anubis."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Something tells me that won't be easy."

"Maybe not, but if there's anyone in the known universe who _can_ do it, it's you. _This_ is what you were meant to be, Daniel. You were meant to overthrow the Goa'uld. You started it when you destroyed Ra--"

"Jack helped."

"Could Jack have done it without you there?"

"Well, uh--"

"That's what I thought," she smirked, crawling into his lap and stradling his hips with her knees. "There's no one more suited to the task, no one braver, smarter, or more capable. No one sexier-looking in tight leather pants, either, but that's another matter." Vala grinned at the blush coloring his face. "You can bet that any time you start to think you can't do it, that defeating the Goa'uld isn't what you were meant to do with your life, then I will be right by your side reminding you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get on with it."

Daniel looked up, meeting her gaze for the first time since she'd shut the solarium door. "I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"

"Definitely, but I have every confidence that you'll succeed." She gave him a quick kiss, pulling away before he could respond. "You're too stubborn to do otherwise."

His left hand curled around her jaw, the right stealing around to the back of her neck to toy with the tiny curls that had escaped the twist into which she'd captured the rest of her hair. "Says the pot to the kettle," he murmured against her lips.

She pulled back to look him in the eye again. "And don't you forget it," she agreed, tapping the end of his nose teasingly.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whew! I feel way better about yesterday's chapter now that Vala's delivered this oh-so-very-well-deserved lecture. I apologize to anyone I may have inadvertently missed replying to lately, as I am on vacation and therefore not in front of the computer for the first eight hours of the day! 

Mayhap we will now see a new and improved Daniel Jackson... and if not, Vala's sure to whack him upside the head until he starts believing in himself.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Kazo and Yuna were talking quietly with one another when they entered the dining room from the solarium. The Hans looked up at the younger couple expectantly, as though awaiting the results of the "private conference" Vala had insisted she have with Daniel.

As though he didn't _already_ have enough voices in his head telling him what to do and how to behave, now he was going to have Vala nagging him in his ear every time he dared to not accept a compliment graciously. He chuckled inwardly, deciding that the revelation that he heard voices was _not_ something he really needed to share with anyone.

"Have you come to some decision?" Kazo asked hesitantly.

"We have," Vala agreed, then nudged Daniel with her elbow.

He sighed, sitting down and scooting his chair in toward the small table. "We're going to keep on locating lost treasures for you," he began, "but the scope of our search will be changing a little. Before, our secondary objective was always finding out who I was, but that's clearly no longer an issue."

"I suppose not," the older man agreed carefully. "We have another confession to make, Master Daniel: Liu Shao has actually met with your teammates and a man named 'Jonas'."

He spluttered into his cup of wine, coughing while Vala firmly thumped him across the back to help him clear his lungs. "When?"

"Just over a moon ago," Yuna replied, gazing down at her lap. "In fact, it was just before we offered you a position within the family."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and slouched in his seat. The feeling of relief was nearly overwhelming. "I guess that answers the question of whether they escaped the destruction of Abydos or not." He looked up at the older couple, frowning. "That must have been the lucrative lead Liu indicated Shao had landed."

"It was," Kazo confirmed. "We have yet to pursue the possibility of trade further."

"You should," he suggested. "It'll be good for both of you." He winced when Vala poked him in the ribs. "_Us_. It would be a good deal for both of _us_. Like Jaya, a trade deal with Earth potentially gives you access to slightly-more-advanced-than-average technology. They'll mainly be interested in trinium and naquadah."

The patriarch nodded his head deeply. "I'll make arrangements to set up the next meeting. Would you care to attend?"

He shook his head. "Diplomacy's not my thing, though goodness knows I got dragged into it enough times."

"I'm sure you were good at it anyway," his partner replied, eyes flashing as though daring him to contradict her.

He wasn't quite up to challenging her just yet. "Vala and I have something else important to do, actually."

"Pity... I would have welcomed your counsel. What other task do you have now?"

Vala lifted her chin. "Before Daniel was... separated from the Tau'ri, he asked them to help locate a certain relic of the 'Gate Builders which could possibly hold the key to defeating Anubis."

"Truly?" Yuna gaped.

"It has that potential, from what I can remember," Daniel agreed cautiously. "I can only hope that in my absence, they've been looking for it anyway. If so, then two different groups searching from two different perspectives will certainly cover more ground than we could if I rejoined them now. Going forward, research on the 'Gate Builders is going to take precedence over everything else."

The matriarch nodded solemnly. "We do have a collection of 'Gate Builder documents in the library."

He felt his brow furrow. "I've never seen them."

She grimaced. "That is because they are withheld from the main collections. We've never before met anyone we could trust who could actually decipher the language."

"I can read a little of it," he admitted, then yelped, turning to glare at Vala. "Why'd you kick me?"

"You can read it quite well, actually," she retorted.

Yuna pressed her hand to her forehead. "I should not be surprised, should I?"

"No," Vala replied. "I'm making it my mission in life to ensure that Daniel takes full credit for his accomplishments." She beamed at her partner. "Any other linguistic revelations you care to share with us?"

He rolled his eyes. "One, yes." Clearing his throat, he unfurled the scrolls he'd laid down on the table earlier, weighting their corners with pieces of fruit and his long-since-gone-cold bowl of rice. "Now according to these texts, a long time ago, all of the Goa'uld's naquadah mines were run by one lesser Goa'uld: Hephaestus."

"I'd think that would make him the most _powerful_ Goa'uld," Vala remarked.

"If it were any other Goa'uld, that would probably be true. He's often described as being quite ugly and somewhat slow-witted, though other legends I've encountered indicate that he was fairly clever. In either case, his task was to oversee the mines and production of ships and weapons, and the other Goa'uld were given their allotments of each based on hierarchy. This worked well for centuries until one day, his slaves rebelled."

"Hmmm... I guess history really _does_ have a tendency to repeat itself," his partner grinned. "One of these days, darling, you're going to have to tell the Hans how you incited the Abydonians to rebel against Ra."

He frowned. "I never told _you_ about that. Besides, it wasn't me, it wa--ow." He glared at her before clearing his throat again. "It's not important to this story anyway. According to these scrolls, no one but Hephaestus ever really knew where all the mines and refineries were. The Goa'uld systematically began to reclaim all the worlds they encountered, but the writer seemed to think it was possible there were many more planets not recaptured. There's even a 'Gate address listed here where it is believed Hephaestus' base of operations was located."

Kazo frowned, leaning across the table. "One of my ancestors sent an investigative taskforce to this world. Several of their number were slain attempting to escape. The planet, they said, was overrun with Hephaestus' misshapen beasts."

Daniel nodded, pointing to the tattered piece of parchment he'd also brought with him. "Well, based on the fragment that is still legible on that, I'd say that world also holds a cartouche on which Hephaestus inscribed the addresses for all the worlds under his watch."

Vala brightened visibly. "We can use our _tel'tak_ to fly there and ring into the old stronghold like we did Peklenc's palace!"

He bit his lip. "That might work, but that isn't what I had in mind. I'm pretty sure that, based on the description, the 'misshapen beasts' were actually the descendants of the slaves who rebelled. They weren't human, they were Unas."

"Ew," she pouted.

"Then that world truly is lost to us," Kazo agreed. "It would take a vast army to clear the land or bombardment from space. If the mines were truly as rich with naquadah as I had heard them to be, such an assault would be extremely dangerous."

Daniel shook his head. "You don't have to attack at all. Almost three years ago, I took part in a dig on a planet I believe to have been the original Goa'uld homeworld. We found fossils of primordial Goa'uld as well as--" he grimaced "--ample evidence that some still lived in the water."

"Ew," Vala repeated.

"Well, if the Unas were the 'first ones'--the first beings to be taken as hosts by the Goa'uld--doesn't it stand to reason they'd share the same homeworld?"

"I suppose," Kazo replied. "Did you find any evidence of this?"

"Oh yeah." He took a quick drink from his wine, then carefully folded his hands atop the table. "I was taken captive by one, actually. Since I was the senior archaeologist on the trip, the Unas who grabbed me saw all the others deferring to me and therefore thought I was a sort of alpha male for my people. He was an adolescent, out to prove himself to his tribe in a kind of rite of passage."

"Do I _want_ to know how you know all this?" his partner sighed.

"We became friends, Chaka and I. He saved me from being killed by the alpha of his people and invited me to return to his world." He grinned. "You wanted another linguistic revelation? The primitive, un-Goa'ulded Unas have a language and society just like humans or any other sentient species does. We won't have to _fight_ the Unas if I can convince them that we're there only to look at the walls of Hephaestus' stronghold."

Yuna closed her eys. "You speak Unas."

"Not really, but with Chaka's help, I think I can convey our intentions."

The matriarch threw up her hands. "I should _not_ be surprised, should I?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//Big Grin at Darkblade and Lurch// Sometimes it's the simple suggestions that turn into fun plot points. Heck, this whole dang epic is based off of a less-than-300-word one-shot... //Big Grin at Ael L. Bolt// I'd like to take this moment to thank all my perennial cheerleaders, too, but there are getting to be so MANY of you! I'll start with Amy, Kay, and Melissa, though... thanks! 


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The wormhole snapped shut behind him and Daniel turned to make certain his companion had followed him through safely. A stately nod of acknowledgment from the tall creature was all the answer he needed. "Vala, I'd like you to meet Chaka. Chaka, this is my friend Vala."

"Charmed," the dark-haired woman replied, jaw held tight as though barely holding back a grimace of distaste.

He had to admit: Unas weren't exactly the most attractive-looking creatures, but he'd take the company of one over that of a Goa'uld any day. When he first set foot on the planet where he'd last seen his Unas friend, he wasn't sure of the state of affairs. After all, the last time he'd been there, Daniel himself had placed weapons in the hands of the Unas and giving his tacit approval to the intended slave uprising. He was pleased beyond all his wildest imaginings to discover that the rebellion had come to a peaceful ending. The human villagers of the world were understandably uneasy about the many powerful reptiles who now lived and worked freely beside them, but it was quite obvious that no one was a slave to anyone else.

He'd asked for Chaka by name, drawing looks of surprise from the villagers who had first approached him when he walked into town. They immediately wished to know his name, and he decided to use "Dan'el", the closest pronunciation the Unas had ever been able to manage. To his amazement and embarrassment, the name was recognized. Chaka had apparently decided to name the truce "Dan'el _cho'ee'che_", which translated roughly to "Daniel speaks peace". In the simplistic, concept-driven language of the Unas, the young tribal leader was essentially giving Daniel the credit for being the initiating voice of reason.

Chaka began sniffing the air, growling softly. "'Ala_ onac?_" he asked.

He frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Daniel, I don't think your friend likes me," Vala replied nervously, backing away slightly.

He sighed. "Chaka, Vala is a friend."

"'Ala_ ka nay?_"

"Yes."

"'Ala_ onac!_"

"No, Chaka, she's not a Goa'uld. Vala _keka onac._"

"He can sense that I was once a host?" she asked, incredulous.

"Apparently," Daniel agreed. "They originated on the same world, and the Unas language is actually the basis for Goa'uld. I'd always thought he could sense the symbiotes in the water of his homeworld, but never really knew for certain."

The big Unas sniffed the air again, then lowered his head slightly. "'Ala_ a _Dan'el_ a ka nay?_"

Daniel nodded. "That's right, we're one tribe. Vala's my mate, Chaka."

"_Sho eyay nay_," Chaka replied approvingly.

"That gives me tingles all over," Vala remarked dryly, some of the tension draining out of her posture. "I still don't like the idea of you two going to meet the tribes all by yourselves."

"I know," Daniel acknowledged. "But it's the only way."

She rolled her eyes. "So are we ready to go?"

Chaka dipped his head again and Daniel nodded. "We're ready. Did you get the recording device?"

"It's in my pack," she replied, already dialing the coordinates for the planet designated on the scroll he'd translated. The wormhole flushed outward from the Stargate on Katana before settling once more into the rippling blue puddle. Daniel then began to walk toward the 'Gate but was blocked by a raised arm. The Unas was apparently taking his protective duties to heart, approaching the Stargate slowly and stepping through ahead of his human companions.

The first thing Daniel noticed on the other side was the smell. He nearly gagged at the stench of rot and decay, his hand coming up involuntarily to pinch his nostrils. Vala emerged from the wormhole and immediately did the same, eyes watering.

"What the...?" she gasped.

Daniel looked around, trying to figure out the source of the horrendous odor. Chaka discovered it before he did, though, grabbing onto his arm and pointing. "Dan'el!"

He felt the blood drain from his face when he what the Unas was indicating. "Oh no."

Vala frowned, following his gaze. "Ew."

A crude rack had been constructed of pieces of metal and wood, supporting the partially-decomposed body of what was once a human figure. Although the clothing was tattered and dirty, Daniel instantly recognized the olive drab BDUs of an SG team member. "Vala, my people were here! Oh, god... they... they..."

His partner was suddenly at his side, though Daniel was entirely unsure how he'd gone from standing to sitting on the ground without noticing the transition. Her hands were rubbing soothing circles on his back and through his hair, crooning soothing gibberish in his ear as he struggled to regain control of his ragged breathing.

"Unas _keka _'uman," Chaka observed, circling the gruesome construct.

"I say we turn around and leave right now," Vala suggested.

Daniel shook his head, digging into his pack for his water flask and rinsing his mouth of the foul taste it had suddenly acquired. "We don't know why they were killed. This could have all been some misunderstanding that got _completely_ out of control."

"_I'll_ say. But since we don't really know if you and Chaka there can actually talk to these Unas or not, why don't we just call this one a lost cause and go to tell the Hans to forget it?"

He shook his head stubbornly. "The Unas language varies little from planet to planet. They all originated from the same world and--let's face it--they're not exactly conversationalists." He tore his gaze away from the macabre totem and noted piles of debris and swathes of tattered green cloth, "The SGC probably sent a team here to test for mining and they somehow stirred up the native Unas. They didn't even get a chance to take down the encampment."

"Surprise attack?"

"Possibly. Vala, if I'd... damn it, if I'd been here, I might have been able to stop this from happening!"

"You know, it's _entirely_ possible the Unas attacked without provocation, in which case you would have ended up just as dead as this guy here."

"Possible, but I don't think it's likely." He closed his eyes to allow the wave of nausea to pass before attempting to regain his feet. "Of course, they could have attacked because of something the SG team didn't realize was a provocation, one of my people could have gotten trigger-happy, there could have been some sort of misunderstanding..." He sighed. "Well, there's probably no way to know for sure, now is there?"

Vala shook her head. "I'm sorry if you knew any of these people, Daniel, but there's nothing we can do."

Daniel nodded. "Actually, there's one thing we _can_ do." Swallowing back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat, he approached the crude rack and reached for the dehydrated corpse's neck. Finding what he was looking for, he jerked away sharply, snapping the chain and emerging with the dog tags in his fist. "Each of the bodies should have a set of these," he announced. "These men deserve a decent burial."

"That could take a _very_ long time to do, and in case you haven't noticed, the ground around here is mostly rock."

"I know," he agreed, dropping the dog tags into a pocket and bending over to unstrap his holster. He handed the pistol and his zat to his surprised partner, leaving his pack on the ground. "That's why Chaka and I are going to go ask the Unas for help."

"You've gone _completely_ wonko," she surmised, eyes wide with shock.

"Probably," he agreed. "I'll be fine, Vala. Trust me on this."

She glared at him, but the effect was defeated by her obvious concern. "You've picked a strange time to start standing up for yourself, Daniel."

"Yeah," he sighed, "but it's the right thing to do. I'll be back soon."

"Am I just supposed to wait here for you?" As though confirming her fears, there was a distant roar which Daniel was almost certain came from an Unas. Chaka's head came up and he began sniffing the air suspiciously. "Daniel, if you think this disaster is your fault because you weren't here, then I have news for you--"

"I don't think that," he quickly interrupted. "Something very bad happened here, yes, but there's nothing to say that I could have prevented it. What I _can_ try to prevent is a repeat performance. Sooner or later--whether it's my people or not--somebody's going to come back to this world and attempt to wipe out all the Unas who live here just to get to the naquadah deposits. I think I can stop the slaughter, so I have to try." He softened, stroking her cheek. "I'll be back soon; that's a promise."

She nodded, moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes. "I'm going to hold you to it, you know. Come back safely or I will hunt you down and kick your ass."

Daniel chuckled. "Now how can I refuse such an obvious declaration of affection?"

Vala pulled his head down and captured his lips in another obvious declaration.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Oi... never would have guessed that the Unas idea would turn out to be such a pivotal plot moment... but it is turning into one! See what idle suggestions can turn into when my brain gets a hold of them? 


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Another distant roar made Vala whirl around, fingers stealing toward the pistol holstered on her thigh. Daniel and his Unas friend had been gone for nearly two hours now, and she was beginning to dread that they'd never return. Despite her partner's assurances that the Unas as a race were honorable and trustworthy, she couldn't help but make comparisons to the few encounters with the reptilian race she could recall from Qetesh's memories.

Sobek, for example, had been as beastly and savage as any nightmare could conjure. Then again, he'd also been a Goa'uld, which might have accounted for most of his behavior. There were other, more distant recollections as well, but nothing she could reconcile with the curiously polite creature that had just walked into the wilderness with Daniel.

Only Daniel, she reflected, could look at such a hideous monster and consider it a potential ally. By all rights, the Unas should have ripped off his head when they first met, not become his 'friend'. She was sure there was more to the story than Daniel was telling, and she'd be certain to drag the rest of it out of him when he came back from his trip into the hills.

Because he _was _coming back, and she'd accept no alternative. He'd explained the principle of the pack structure to her and how to show passivity and submission in case any Unas approached her at the 'Gate, but if anything were to happen to him, she'd go show these primitive beasts what kind of damage an alpha _female_ could do.

She sighed, rolled her shoulders, and tried to ease some of the tension building in her neck and back. Before Daniel had gone to retrieve his scaly friend, he'd explained the basics of what he was going to have to do to win the Unas' trust, but he'd certainly never mentioned that he'd be making the trip unarmed. That was one adjustment to the plan he'd made without her consent, and she was none-too-please about it. Even more, she was disgusted with herself by how easily she gave in to him.

It was the eyes. When they'd first met, Vala had thought to turn his good looks into tools of seduction and manipulation. He had the perfect blend of features for it: strong jaw, slender but well-muscled body, and lips shapely enough to make nearly any woman jealous. Combined with his intelligence and magnetism, he drew a lot of attention from both genders. At first, she'd thought him oblivious to his effect on people, but now that she realized she'd given up on this latest disagreement far too easily, she also discovered that she'd been played.

He'd captured her with those oh-so-expressive eyes and uttered the fateful words: "Trust me." And she did, though she certainly had every reason to doubt his sanity. He was, after all, walking into a forest full of violent beasts which had hung at least one of his fellow Tau'ri out to dry. Still, she was nodding and accepting before she realized that he'd turned the full force of those sky-blue eyes on her and suckered her right into agreeing to let him do exactly what he intended to do anyway.

She didn't know whether to be annoyed or impressed.

Rather than dwell on what she was currently powerless to change, Vala began to explore the immediate surroundings. The 'Gate was set in a rocky valley bordered on all sides by a high, gravel-strewn slope which ended in dark forest. It was almost as though something had taken a big, circular bite out of the surrounding woods and dropped a Stargate in the middle of it. However the depression had been formed, she could tell the terrain made it easy for a native force to repel an invasion from the alien portal. It was no wonder Daniel's Tau'ri friends--though she fervently hoped no one who died here had _been_ one of his friends--had been forced to retreat.

She discovered two more bodies, both lying where they had fallen, as evidenced by the blood staining the ground around them. Given the level of decay, she estimated they'd been here for a month, perhaps a little longer. Since the corpses were otherwise undisturbed, she concluded that there wasn't much of a native predator population. The Unas, she supposed, took care of those.

On the back side of the 'Gate was a battered box which looked vaguely familiar. It wasn't until she saw the broken metal arm to one side and a bent wheel beside it that she realized she had seen one of these before, intact. When she and Daniel were leaving Makosis, they edged past such a device before stepping into the wormhole to Katana.

Daniel's people had come for him on Makosis, but she had already taken him away.

She choked back a sob, looking away from the hateful machine and what it represented. If not for her, he would have been reunited with the people of his world four months ago, could possibly have been here to stop this slaughter from occurring, could have...

Coughing harshly, she swiped at the tears trying to form in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was _happy_. Unfortunately, it seemed now that her happiness had come at a cost to Daniel and the Tau'ri that none of them could have anticipated. He seemed to be happy with her, too, but given his reluctance to defend attacks on his character, would he have said anything if he wasn't?

For a brief, selfish moment, she considered not telling Daniel what she had learned. But no, that would hardly do justice to the trust they were so carefully building between them. Besides, all Daniel had to do was replay their departure from Makosis in his mind and he would surely recognize the "cart" for being a tool of his people. Perhaps he already had, but just hadn't told her what he'd discovered.

Cursing, she kicked a small rock across the valley floor, a brief twinge of pain shooting up her leg. Why couldn't it be as easy to get rid of problems as it had been to send that rock flying? Why was it that every time she and Daniel seemed to come to a new understanding with one another, something else came up to disrupt their lives?

From behind her came a soft growl and the scrabble of hard claws on gravel. Whirling around, she barely resisted the urge to draw her weapon as not one but _two_ Unas slid down the gravel slope. They were dressed in ratty furs and bits of dull metal which vaguely resembled Jaffa armor, but carried no visible weapons other than their natural talons and sharp teeth. They stopped at the bottom of the valley, making grunting noises to one another and watching her with their yellow eyes.

The head and shoulders of another Unas appeared over the rise, calling down to the two who had preceded it. It then swung a crude net over the edge, lowering the heavy burden with surprising gentleness until the two waiting below could receive it. From this distance, the net appeared to contain something just the right size and shape for a human body.

A lump formed in her throat, and before she realized what she was doing, her pistol was in her hand, the barrel wavering among the three, unsure which Unas to target first.

"Vala!"

She nearly collapsed with relief, turning to watch Daniel, Chaka, and one of the native Unas carefully descend the treacherous slope. Not really caring if the Unas misinterpreted her actions or not, she re-holstered the weapon as she ran, throwing herself at Daniel as soon as she was close. Luckily, he wasn't so startled he couldn't catch her, holding her to him as she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could hold.

"Hey, it's okay. I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"I was so worried," she admitted, bravely managing to hold back her tears once again. What was it about this man that so often turned her into an emotional wreck?

"It's okay," he soothed, stroking her back and hair. "It took a little longer than I thought to explain everything I needed to, that's all. Then the Unas had to go... round things up."

"'Round things up?'" she echoed.

He kissed her on the forehead, then turned her around to face the three Unas who had first arrived, only now there were seven of them and perhaps as many as a dozen of the net bundles now on the ground. "I explained my people's burial customs as best I could, letting them know that the SG personnel needed to be properly laid to rest. Two-Claw sent some of the Unas out to begin gathering, uh... the bodies while Chaka and I stayed on and discussed other things."

Daniel took a breath. "The old leader, Iron-Shirt, died in the fight with the SGC, along with nearly half of the Unas population. Some of the humans made it back through the 'Gate safely, so the Unas guarded it for weeks to make sure they didn't try to come back, mourning and burying their own dead while they waited. If General Hammond is still in charge at the SGC, then he probably tried sending a probe or two through to check to see if it was safe, but would surely have decided it wasn't worth the risk to come back to retrieve the bodies."

"And that guy?" Vala asked, pointing at where the Unas were dismantling the metal-and-wood rack and almost-reverently extricating the body it had held.

He grimaced. "Left as a warning in case they _did_ try to return. I have a feeling that Hammond didn't make the decision lightly, though. The SGC has always tried not to leave their people behind."

She swallowed heavily, nodding. "I'll say. While you were gone, I found something you'll want to see." Grabbing his hand and ignoring the puzzled look she was being given by Chaka and the battle-scarred Unas who could only be Two-Claw, she led Daniel around to the back side of the 'Gate, sweeping her arm over the wreckage of the boxy metal cart.

"That's a MALP," he explained, recognizing it almost immediately. "It's a mechanical probe used by the SGC to determine if a world is safe to travel to or not."

"Well, that explains a lot," she nodded, clenching her jaw to rein in her emotions. "I've seen one of these before, too."

"You have? Where?"

She lifted her chin. "On Makosis, right before we left."

Daniel froze, then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Talk about your timing issues," he muttered at last. "So if we'd hung around another hour or so, we'd have met one of the SG teams coming through the 'Gate?"

"I guess so," she shrugged. "In the long run, I guess it doesn't really matter that I never told you about the bounty marker. If I hadn't taken you from Makosis, you probably would already have been reunited with your people."

"That's not fair, Vala, neither of us could have known. Besides, I seem to recall practically insisting that I go through the Stargate with you, so it's not your fault anyway. It's just cosmically bad timing and the weird sort of odd luck that follows me around like a cloud over my head. Sometimes it rains on me, sometimes it keeps me from getting sunburned."

"Fickle luck," she agreed, scuffing at the ground with the toe of her boot. "Yet another thing we're finding we have in common."

Daniel crossed over to her in an instant, folding his arms around her shoulders again. "Fickle luck which brought the two of us together, though."

"Are you sure that's a good thing?"

He tapped her chin with his forefinger, bringing her eyes up to meet his. "You have to ask? I don't think I've been happier in my life. Planets to explore, enemies to conquer--"

"Or win over."

"--or win over," he amended. "Loot to plunder, ships to steal, and a beautiful lady pirate by my side. What more could a prince ask?"

She chuckled at the reminder of the silly old fairytale. "Too bad neither of us makes a very good pirate."

"Then I guess you'll just have to be satisfied with being my princess."

That made her feel extremely warm and happy. "And what about your kingdom, my prince?"

"Safe in the hands of the king and his advisors, I hope." He released her from his embrace when one of the Unas made a noise which sounded vaguely like a question, responding back with the harsh sounds of the creatures' language. "Okay, they're about ready to cover each of the bodies with rocks, but I want to take the dog tags off them first so that I can mark their graves. Do you want to stay here or will you help another group?"

"I'll help," she agreed. "These dog tags... are they on a necklace like the one you removed from the first man?"

He nodded. "There are two tags on each chain. Just break the longer chain and take that tag off, then slip the smaller chain around the pole the Unas are going to drive into the ground at the head of each cairn. We'll send the tags back to the SGC and let them know it's safe to come back here. The first shipment of naquadah should be ready in a few weeks."

Vala blinked, certain she'd missed something. "Naquadah?"

Daniel grinned. "Yeah. After I explained what a big misunderstanding all this had been and why my people were here, Two-Claw volunteered his people to work the mines. They want to do what they can to help fight the Goa'uld, but realize their numbers aren't strong enough to repel another attack like the last one. Basically, they want to be allies with Earth."

She gaped, certain that the expression on her face made her look extremely dim-witted. "How did you convince them of _that?_"

He shrugged. "It was Two-Claws' idea, actually. Chaka says he'll stay here to serve as a liaison between the SGC and the Unas. He's tickled pink to have helped negotiate this treaty and might even be considering a career as an ambassador for the Unas of the galaxy." Catching the look on her face, he laughed. "Sorry, little joke there."

Finally regaining some of her composure, Vala closed her mouth with an audible click. "I thought you said diplomacy wasn't your thing?"

"Guess I was wrong."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Happy Daniel, happy Vala! Have a happy weekend. 


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

"I don't like this," Jack complained for at least the fifth time in an hour.

"So you've said, Colonel."

"And I still mean it, sir!"

Hammond shook his head. "They specifically asked for SG-1, Jack. I had to contact the Tok'ra liason three times to convince the Hans to permit SG-14 to come with you. They were adamant that negotiations could be conducted only with your team present."

"But we're a man short!" Jack protested. "Er, woman."

"As you well know, your fourth position has been temporarily filled for the purposes of this mission. As for Major Carter, until we hear back from the _Prometheus_ or the Tok'ra can get to their last-known location, our hands are tied."

He sighed, knowing the general was right but not liking the idea of leaving the matter of the missing _Prometheus_ up to the Tok'ra. He was itching to get out and do _something_. Granted, going and making a nice show for the representatives of the largest trade organization in the galaxy was beneficial to the greater good of the SGC and Earth, but didn't alleviate Jack's need to be in action.

One of the worst parts of his job was when SG-1 had to go play diplomat, sitting around shooting the breeze instead of... well, shooting other stuff. Jack hated politicians on Earth as it was, but to have to kowtow to the ones from other worlds? In the last year alone, he'd had to deal with the governments of Pangar, Tagrea, Hebridan, and--his least favorite--Kelowna.

Not that his views on the leadership of that particular planet in anyway affected his feelings for his youngest teammate, who happened to be a Kelownan expatriate. He'd grown somewhat fond of Jonas, though he'd deny such a thing if ever questioned. He was a pretty good kid, way out of his depth most of the time and struggling with the perpetual shade of the man in whose footsteps he was attempting to follow. Unfortunately, there never had been--nor likely ever would be--anyone like Daniel Jackson.

Frankly, if Jack was anxious about Carter and the _Prometheus_ having failed to report, then he was darn-near _frantic_ about the continued fate of his still-absent best friend, younger brother, surrogate son, and all-around pain-in-the-ass. A single, cryptic message referencing a science fiction parody was hardly the reassurance of continued safety he needed to maintain his tenuous grip on sanity. What he _really_ needed was for one sheepish archaeologist to come stumbling through the 'Gate, apologizing profusely for making everyone worry about him. He'd settle for something more tangible than a Tok'ra telling another Tok'ra that a former Goa'uld host said...

He wasn't a man of faith. A little validation would go a long way.

"Colonel?"

He started slightly, turning to look at Hammond, then noticing that SG-1, Carter's "stand-in", and SG-14 were already waiting in the 'Gate room. "You got it, sir, on our way to meet with the new supply chain."

"After the disaster with SG-11, Jack, I don't think I need to remind you how important this is."

"No, sir," he agreed, tightening his grip on the P-90 slung across his chest. "You can count on us."

Hammond nodded. "Good luck, son."

With nothing further to be said, Jack turned and made his way out of the control room, meeting the rest of his group at the bottom of the ramp just as the wormhole roared to life. Hammond issued his usual benediction over the loud speaker, which the colonel immediately followed up with a jaunty wave, taking point through the 'Gate.

He emerged on the other side to what could have been the spitting image of the American Midwest were it not for the triple moons hovering on the horizon like faded ghosts. Not far from the only trees in the immediate area were several brightly-colored tents and canopies that never ceased to remind Jack of the Shavadai. He turned to Carter to tease her about the blue dress, only to remember at the last second that his second was on the other side of the galaxy, bringing the _Prometheus_ home from Tagrea.

"I hope they brought plenty of samples of those medicinal herbs they were talking about," Janet Frasier grinned, looking ridiculously cheerful about being offworld. Then again, her usual forays to other planets were usually in the middle of a medical crisis, so Jack was certain the tiny physician was itching to indulge her scientific curiosity under less dangerous circumstances.

"Unless they're not as serious about trading with us as they sounded, they probably do," he answered casually. "Louie sounded pretty eager to get started, last I heard."

"Which one was that?" she asked.

"Liu Shao," intoned Teal'c from just behind Frasier. "O'Neill refers to Kien Lu as 'Kenny'."

She spun around, frowning in confusion. "Oh."

Jonas picked up the pace a little to come up alongside her. "See, technically that's not correct, as 'Liu' and 'Kien' are actually their surnames, not their given names."

"Yeah, yeah," the colonel griped, having grudgingly paid a _little _attention during the etiquette briefing. "Seriously, who has their names backwards like that?"

Although, the Kelownan opened his mouth to reply, Teal'c beat him to it. "Bajorans."

"Beige-whats?"

The Jaffa straightened, smile dropping from his face. "Never mind."

Their welcoming party had begun to assemble, with point-and-center position filled by a barrel-chested man, his dark hair graying at the temples. He bore a striking resemblance to Chow Yun-Fat, Jack decided, assuming the Chinese actor were to gain about fifty pounds. Flanking him were Liu Shao and a shaven-headed man he guessed was Kien Lu. Four guards were lined up immediately behind the trio.

As one, the three men bowed at the waist. "Colonel O'Neill, I am accompanied by Han Kazo, the patriarch of the Han family, and Kien Lu. Master Han, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1."

Jack returned the bow. "Along with me today are Doctor Janet Frasier, our primary physician, Teal'c, Jonas Quinn, and our diplomatic team SG-14: Major Hawthorne, Captain Rivers, and Sergeants Maxwell and Constantinou."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," replied the Han leader. Jack's estimation of the situation improved drastically, realizing that the negotiations were going to be handled by no less than the boss of the interstellar trade agency. "If I may ask, where is Major Carter?"

"Away on another mission," he answered carefully. "Her return was delayed, so she was unable to come with us."

"I see," Han Kazo answered. "But please, come inside! It is far too warm a day to be standing in the sun."

Jack agreed, having already started to feel the heat. Ushered into the surprisingly-cool tent, and he had to resist the almost-overwhelming urge to order SG-14 to stand guard. They were supposed to be establishing _trust_ with the Hans, after all.

"Before we begin," the Han leader began, settling himself into his cushions, "let me explain the delay in our contacting you. As you may or may not be aware, nearly a thousand years ago, my ancestors earned a charter to trade goods, materials, and medicines among the holdings of many of the System Lords. There are actually some worlds which are solely devoted to mining and refining metals, so on these planets our delivery of food and medicines is critical. In exchange, we receive a small amount of the extracted ores.

"It is not a perfect system, and there are many worlds to which we are forbidden to travel. Some of the System Lords will not permit our caravans on _any_ of their holdings. We have also been restricted from dealing with direct enemies of the System Lords as a whole and from arming any space craft we may acquire. We are also expected to give information to the Goa'uld when requested."

Jonas nodded. "And talking with us constitutes dealing with one of the enemy, of course."

"Yes, it does," Han Kazo agreed, "but only if we are discovered. We contacted you through the Tok'ra, of course, which should indicate to you that this is not the first such time we have... ignored one of the rules."

Despite himself, he grinned. "Any other rules you feel like breaking?"

"The one regarding information, of course." He glanced at Kien Lu and Liu Shao briefly. "There are some in the family who consider it our duty to obey the conditions of the charter to the letter. That is fine, but they are usually assigned to trade routes in the remote parts of the galaxy and allowed to fulfill their tasks as they see fit, so long as they do not bring dishonor to the family.

"Then there is my most trusted inner-circle, which includes my wife, daughters, and a handful of others. Only these are aware of some of the more controversial contacts we make. We have a rival organization called the Lucien Alliance which has no such enforced loyalty to the System Lords, but would dearly love an opportunity to take our place in the galaxy."

"I have heard of them in passing," Teal'c remarked. "They are regarded as little more than a band of outlaws and thieves."

"Outlaws and thieves who have manged, in recent years, to commandeer a dozen _al'kesh_ and--it is rumored--one or two _ha'tak_." Han Kazo cleared his throat. "I'm not so foolish as to believe that the Goa'uld will rule the galaxy forever. In fact, I have recently come to believe that when the System Lords finally fall, it will be at the hands of the Tau'ri."

"We're flattered," Jack replied, just barely managing to rein in the full force of his intended sarcasm. "I take it you think since we're the guys to do the job, you want to be on our good side when it happens?"

The patriarch smiled. "That is one way to put it. We can't overtly build a fleet of our own so long as we wish to keep the protection of our charter with the System Lords. It is our fear that once the System Lords fall--to you, or perhaps to Baal or Anubis--the Lucien Alliance will begin to take by force many territories and trade routes to which they currently are forbidden access. Instead of encouraging the continual flow of goods and materials, they will seize resources and upset the balance by introducing weapons and euphorics to the trade."

"Drug runners," Janet realized.

"Correct. My wife and I have concluded that the Hans will require the assistance of the Tau'ri, the Tok'ra, and the Jaffa Rebellion if our family's legacy is to survive the fall of the Goa'uld."

Jack shifted on his cushion, the seating being decidedly uncomfortable on his aching knees. "That's a pretty tall order," he began, "especially since the Tau'ri fleet isn't very big, either." How was _that_ for an understatement? The entire fleet currently consisted of one ship and a dozen fighters, but the _Prometheus_ was barely capable of hyperspace and was... well, _missing_, along with the eight 302s which filled its launch bay.

"But you _do_ have the capability of building more ships, if you had the resources." Han Kazo gestured to Kien Lu, who rose from his cushion and exited the tent. "One of our cousins and his partner recently began investigating rumors of worlds once controlled by the Goa'uld Hephaestus. He was a minor Goa'uld, one tasked with overseeing the mining and refinement of naquadah and other metals for _all_ the System Lords. He lost control of his slaves, though, and each Goa'uld has been responsible for his or her own mines ever since. It was believed that some of his worlds were never retaken."

Kien Lu returned to the room, carrying a plain wooden box in his hands. He bowed, handed the box to Han Kazo, then settled himself into his cushion once again. The older Han traced the lid with his finger contemplatively. "This cousin, his partner, and an old friend of the cousin's went off to one of the rumored Lost Mines. Upon arrival, they realized that someone had gotten there before them."

Setting the box on the low table, he slid it across to Jack. Curious, the colonel flipped the latch holding the small chest shut, then slowly eased the lid. Shiny bits of metal greeted him. As he lifted one of the pieces out, a small gasp escaped Janet Frasier. Jack agreed with the sentiment, flipping the dog tag over in his hand to read the top line of the imprint: Ritter, Kirk.

"Colonel?" Hawthorne asked, fingers tightening on his M4.

"Ritter from SG-11." He dug into the box again, drawing out another tag. "Carlson from SG-3. Maffet, SG-18. Douglas, SG-18." Tipping the container over, he counted its contents, coming up with fourteen. "We lost sixteen men on '403, including two civilians. How the hell did you get these?"  
Han Kazo pressed his hands flat to the tabletop. "As I said, one of our cousins and his two companions went to investigate the planet. With the help of the indigenous Unas, they recovered all sixteen bodies and interred them in stone cairns near the Stargate."

"The Unas helped?" Janet gaped.

Jack shook his head. "No way. That's completely impossible."

"Impossible is not a word my cousin likes to hear," the Han leader replied, lips twitching. "I dare not give his true name, but I believe you would know him as 'Solo'."

He frowned, trying to piece together where he might have heard of someone who went by that name. To be honest, making friends with Unas sounded like something--

Oh. _Now_ he knew where he'd heard that name.

"_Han_ Solo," Teal'c supplied, connecting the dots.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," scoffed someone from SG-14.

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's not his _real_ name, just an assumed one. Now don't say anything, but who is it I blame for my hair having gone gray?"

Sergeant Constantinou, a cheerful Greek who'd been with the SGC for nearly three years, burst out laughing, earning confused looks from his teammates. Taking pity on Maxwell, the team's "new kid", he whispered into the younger sergeant's ear.

"Oh."

"Care to clue in the rest of us who are a little slower on the uptake?" Hawthorne groused, pointing at himself and Rivers.

"I work out of his office," Jonas answered. "Half of the SGC's translators use his language guides in the field. Doctor Frasier still keeps a reserved bed in the infirmary for him--"

"I do not!" Janet protested, her cheeks coloring slightly.

Jack grinned. "Maybe not, but it _is_ the last one you fill in a crisis." Scooping up the dog tags, he carefully deposited them back in the box and shut the lid. He looked up, leaning his elbows on the table. "I'll bet _your_ hair was solid black before you met him."

Han Kazo ran his fingers through his hair. "It wasn't, but I believe there are a few more lightened hairs than there were."

"I once had a head _full_ of hair," Kien Lu joked.

Jack cleared his throat. "When we finish here, go back, grab your 'cousin' by the ear, and tell him to get his ass home, pronto." He flicked the box with his forefinger. "Here's proof how badly we need him: these sixteen men might still be alive if he'd been able to work his magic on the Unas _before_ the attack."

The patriarch nodded. "He is aware of this, Colonel, having guessed much the same. He also wished me to inform you that the first shipment of naquadah should be ready for collection in approximately two weeks."

"Shipment?"

"We wanted it for ourselves, of course, but apparently the Unas will mine it only for someone who will then use the ore to battle the Goa'uld. I am told an Unas named 'Chaka' will be your liaison, and that Master... 'Solo' will continue his search for a certain relic of the 'Gate Builders."

Jack sighed. "He's not coming home anytime soon, is he?"

Han Kazo smiled sadly, spreading his hands. "My wife and I had tried to convince him to come along today, but he declined. He is an... exceedingly _stubborn_ young man."

"That he is," the colonel replied, catching out of the corner of his eye the looks of disappointment on the faces of Teal'c, Janet, Jonas, or Constantinou. The doc looked on the verge of tears and Jack didn't feel much better. "Tell him we... we miss him. _I_ miss him."

The patriarch nodded soberly. "I will do as you ask."

Knowing it was the best he could hope for today, Jack clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. "So! Let's get to the negotiating part! Hawthorne, this is your area... have at it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a delivery to make."

Scooping up the box, he stood up as quickly as his protesting knees would allow and exited the tent. Someone was following behind him and he figured it was probably Teal'c. It didn't matter who it was anyway, as no one was likely to believe Jack if he said the moisture hovering on the edge of his eyes was the result of allergies.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whoo-hoo! Happy 900, folks! Also, I discovered Friday evening that this story has been nominated for the Isis Awards, so whoo-hoo again! Now go check out some of the other 'fics nommed, as there are some truly spectacular works and writers in the running! And... um, I was going to mention my FFnet glitch-fixer page, but the glitch hath been fixed. Oh, well... in case it happens again (which it inevitably will), 'tis www (dot) alexandria-archives (dot) com (slash) FFnet (dot) html. 

Back to more exciting adventures with Daniel and Vala tomorrow!

* * *

//grumbles// Well, whaddya know? It looks like FFnet's email servers are down again... for the rest of this week's installments, check back manually each weeknight at midnight GMT (or soon thereafter). There's also a sorta-kinda fix for the updates on the link I listed. 


	49. Chapter 49

As you've probably already noticed, FFnet email alerts are down again... This is just a reminder that I post every week night, usually between 7pm and 8pm Eastern U.S. time, which is midnight GMT. Don't panic TOO much if your daily dose of D/V doesn't show up in your mailbox!

* * *

Chapter 49

"Well, now we know why the 'Gate wouldn't connect."

Daniel nodded, staring down at the planet's volatile surface. It was the only body in the solar system their sensors indicated was the right mass to support humanoid life, but the atmosphere was toxic. This world might have been habitable a hundred or even a thousand years ago, but was now a teeming mess of lava-spewing volcanoes and pyroclastic rivers. If there'd ever been an Ancient city down there, it was long-gone now.

"Scratch Taonas off the list," he agreed. "Want to try the next one or head back to Katana?"

Vala leaned against the _tel'tak_'s console and pressed her fist to her chin. "Oh, let's go to the next one."

He pulled up the navigation computer on the viewscreen, punching in the glyphs for the second address. After discovering that Hephaestus' palace was nothing more than a pile of ancient rubble, Daniel and Vala had returned to the Hans, passed the dog tags off to be delivered to the Tau'ri, and let Kazo know of the mining agreement upon which the Unas had insisted. The Han family patriarch had been equal parts stunned and amused, but promised to carry out his wishes.

"As you say, Master Daniel, this arrangement could be extremely beneficial for us both," the older man smiled enigmatically. "Are you certain you do not wish to join me for the opening negotiations?"

Shaking his head, he declined again, citing a need to begin his research into the Ancients. Vala proved to be a more-than-capable assistant, having a keen eye for pattern recognition that allowed her to scan texts for any words which resembled any of several different synonyms and variants of the words "lost" and "city".

Within a few days, they'd come across what seemed to be traveler's log or an expeditionary journal of some kind, possibly belonging to an Ancient or even a direct descendant of one. Several destinations were named within its contents, each location carefully notated with a set of 'Gate coordinates. With Vala's help, they'd pored over the addresses, comparing them to the most recent information in the Han library's computer. Of the fifty-seven planets named, twenty-six had been eliminated immediately as Goa'uld territories and three Daniel had recognized from his own travels: Kheb, where he'd first met Oma DeSala; Heliopolis, the planet Ernest Littlefield had been trapped on for fifty years; and P4X-639, which Jack O'Neill had affectionately dubbed "The Land of Groundhog Day".

That then left them with a list of twenty-eight more planets to investigate. They'd tested each of the addresses at the Stargate, coming up with only nine which actually connected. Deciding to reserve those worlds for later survey, Daniel memorized the shortened list and destroyed his notes so that they couldn't fall into the wrong hands.

He finished plotting the course then dropped his hands to the _tel'tak_'s control yoke and engaged the hyperdrive. Vala had insisted he learn how to "drive" in case they have had to switch off, so was using this opportunity to teach him the basics.

"If you can learn a _tel'tak_, you can learn an _al'kesh_," she had beamed after going over the function of the control yoke. "Death gliders and _ha'tak_ are a bit different, though."

"Oh," he grinned teasingly, "I _already_ know how to fly a _ha'tak_."

That admission had then led to his explaining how he and his team had finally defeated Apophis, which then required an explanation for how their ship and Apophis' had been trapped four _million_ light years from home. That had resulted in a recount of Sam's amazing feat of stellar pyrotechnics. Having never heard of anyone deliberately blowing up an entire solar system, Vala was suitably impressed.

He was startled out of his mental meanderings by a soft beep from one of the sensors. "Uh... I think we might have a problem."

Vala looked up, frowning at the console. "What kind of problem?" At his embarrassed shrug, she expertly tapped a few controls, bringing up the interface on the viewscreen. "You're not the only one with fickle luck, Daniel."

"Why, what is it?"

She grimaced. "You know that electromagnetic storm we passed through on our way here that I said probably wouldn't pose a problem?"

"No, wait... don't tell me: it did?"

"I'm afraid so. Our power levels are going to be critically low in just a few hours. We're going to need to find a planet with a Stargate that is close enough to get to before this thing becomes a dead husk in space."

Nodding, Daniel opened the navigational computer again. "Here's one that's about fourteen hours away."

"Too far. We have only about nine hours left... anything closer?"

"Not really. Eleven hours is the closest I can do, I think, but it means we turn around and go back the way we came, almost."

She pounded the console in frustration. "Do it. I'll cut our power consumption levels as much as I can. I'll need to disable weapons, all shields except navigation, and communications. No lights and minimal environmentals, too. Sorry, Daniel, but its going to get a little cold in here."

"Darn. I left my scarf back on Katana," he quipped, turning the ship around and trying to keep the situation light. "Did I ever tell you about the time Anubis tried to crash an asteroid into Earth?"

Vala looked up from the access panel in which she was now elbows-deep. "Well, as much as I would _love_ to hear your story, talking uses up more oxygen than just sitting still does. I'm even going to seal off the cargo bay and void its atmosphere so that we're only trying to heat and keep air in one tiny compartment."

The next half hour was spent in tense silence, Vala working diligently to cut connections, re-route power, and limit their power consumption rate. Finally, she returned from her work back at the engines, closed the cargo bay doors, then walked back to the copilot's seat in the darkness. A moment later, she exhaled heavily. "I think we'll have about twelve hours."

"It's enough," Daniel assured her.

It was hard to find things to do when talking and exercise were out of the question--which _definitely _left out other activities, Vala pointed out with a sly wink. Instead, they had to sit quietly in their chairs and stare out at the streaking purple-white light of hyperspace. Before the hypnotic swirls could entice either of them to go to sleep, Daniel set an alarm on the console, then settled back into the pilot's seat.

He didn't know how long it actually took to drift off, but he woke on his own still four hours from the nearest planet with a 'Gate. A quick check of their energy levels showed that they were actually doing better than expected, with an estimated six hours of power left in the ship. His movement must have disturbed Vala's slumber, who then nodded her cautious approval at the read-out on the screen.

There was no point in trying to sleep further, so they abandoned their chairs and used the flashlights from their packs as lamps. A popular game of chance was produced from the depths of the former con artist's bag, and she set about teaching him to play. Having always been lousy at card games, he was equally terrible at Triads.

Chess. When they got back to Katana, he was going to have to get out his wood kit and try his hand at carving a chess set.

As his luck would have it, he was in the middle of a winning streak when the console alarm sounded. Bowing to her superior piloting skills, he was more than happy to take the second seat. Vala brought the ship out of hyperspace, then nodded at him to reactivate the close-range sensors.

"Uh-oh. I'm detecting at least two _al'kesh_ in orbit of the planet and what looks like a _ha'tak_ on the surface."

"Damn it," Vala swore, slapping buttons rapidly to activate the cloaking device. "They probably detected our entry to the solar system, but there's no help for that now. The Stargate's likely guarded, so we're going to have to land this somewhere remote and try to escape quietly."

Daniel nodded. "Found the 'Gate, anyway. It looks like there's a pretty heavy forest not far away, though. I'm trying to find a clearing big enough to set down in."

"Make it fast," she replied, eyeing the flashing power indicator. "The cloak is drawing too much power, so we now have only half an hour."

"Crap." Worrying at his lip, Daniel bent back to his task, carefully scrutinizing sensor data in search of a suitable landing place. The tension was palpable, two sets of eyes desperately poring over a single display.

When the countdown reached fifteen minutes, Vala shook her head. "I'm taking it down. If we find a good landing zone, fine... if not, we'll have to make do." Still thanking their fortunes that the Goa'uld vessels had yet to give any indications of pursuit, they entered the atmosphere and raced toward the appointed landing area.

"Got it!" Daniel shouted in triumph, transferring the coordinates to the navigation computer.

Suddenly, the ship was jolted heavily, sending him careening toward the pilot's chair, though he caught himself on the center console quickly enough, staring at the sensors in horror. "Death gliders!"

Vala grimly tightened her grip on the control yoke. "Well, Daniel, you're about to see just how good I am at making crash-landings."

He jerked his head up at the looming trees, just as branches started snapping off on the _tel'tak_'s nose.

"Crap," he muttered. The world shook again and again, then everything went black.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
I know, I know... me and my evil cliffies strike once again! The easiest way to get to the Isis Awards is to go to your favorite search engine and type in... "Isis Awards". (Strange, huh?) Otherwise, you can try to sort through my FFnet-link-squelching-get-around: isis (dot) worldstowander (dot) com 

Also, I don't remember which author it was that named the game of chance "Triads", but thanks! I couldn't have thought of a better name, so happily borrowed it.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Groaning softly, Daniel pushed himself off of the console on which he was sprawled. A quick glance at Vala showed that his partner was still unconscious, a trail of blood streaking her forehead. Not knowing how long it had been since they "crashed", he leaned across the center panel and shook her shoulder. She moaned softly, but didn't awaken.

They couldn't have been down for long, he decided, fingers carefully testing his throbbing left cheekbone and temple. Other than some sore muscles and few protesting bruises from the rest of his body, he seemed to be okay. He wouldn't stay that way long if he and Vala didn't get away from the wreckage before the Goa'uld ships returned to finish them.

Or worse: a Jaffa patrol did.

Cursing softly, he put his feet beneath him and struggled to stand upright on the pitched deck of the crashed _tel'tak_. Most of their gear lay scattered near the ship's hatch, the open packs having spilled their contents in the collision. Holding onto anything which could help him keep from falling over, he made his way over the bags and began to stuff the supplies into a single bag, sticking to the essentials and emptying the second pack. Vala might be disappointed at losing her cards, dice, and collection of hair accessories, but none of those three items were necessary for survival.

Next, he quickly moved to the rear compartment. There had apparently been a hull breach, he realized, noting that the cargo hold was pressurized already. Finding their scattered food supplies, he filled the second bag with non-perishables and water flasks, then returned to the cockpit.

Vala was still slumped across the console when he returned, escalating his concern. She was probably concussed, he guessed, and might not be capable of walking on her own even if he _could_ get her awake. Thinking quickly, he slung the pack containing the food and water over his back, then fastened the second pack to the bottom of the first using the attached D-rings. It was uncomfortable dangling behind his legs like that, but at least he wouldn't have to leave behind anything vital.

Moving over to the center console, Daniel set the self-destruct timer for five minutes. Recalling a trick Aris Boch had employed, he yanked the deactivation crystal out, shoving it into his coat pocket. Finally, he pressed the controls to open the outer door--which thankfully complied--then turned back to Vala.

"Time to go," he muttered, more to himself than anything. He carefully turned her chair while pulling her upright, then slid his arms beneath her legs and back. Cradling her limp body to his chest, he stepped outside the wreckage, looking around to get his bearings.

The forest was north of the Stargate, he remembered, and they'd been traveling east-to-west when they were hit. South, then, was to the left of the crashed ship. Inhaling deeply, he moved into the dark woods, trying to put as much distance between himself and the impending explosion.

When the self-destruct went off, the noise disturbed Vala, causing her to begin to struggle against his hold. He swiftly dropped to one knee and laid her on the ground, patting her cheek to get her attention.

"Ugh," she muttered as she came around, screwing up her face. She squinted up at him, blinked, then let out a sigh. "Hello, gorgeous."

"Hello yourself," he answered. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a herd of cattle are stampeding through my skull."

"Ouch," he grimaced in sympathy. "Give me a second and I'll get you a painkiller."

"A zat?"

He laughed. "No, one of the analgesics from my med kit. You know, the one I put together from the stuff we stole on Jaya?"

"_You_ stole," she reminded him. "I was picking the lock."

"Semantics." Releasing the D-rings, he pulled the second pack around and dug through it, coming up with the small bag into which he'd stuffed the pilfered supplies. When Balin returned their packs to them at the meeting with the Hans, she'd helped him to identify the medications, explaining the uses of each. Popping open the Jayan equivalent to Tylenol, he handed two of the pills to his partner and offered her a sip from one of the flasks of water. "Nice landing, by the way."

She coughed, swiping at her mouth before returning the bottle. "_Any_ landing you can walk away from _is _a nice landing."

"Yeah... except _I_ walked, _you_... didn't."

Grinning, Vala tweaked the tip of his nose. "Semantics."

He rolled his eyes. "You know, I once suggested the Tok'ra equip one of their ships with seat belts."

"I'm sure that went over well," she answered, gingerly touching the lump on her forehead. "Ow. We're probably going to be having company before long, so we'd better get moving. Where's the ship, anyway?"

"About a quarter of a mile back that way," Daniel replied, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Of course, it's just a smoldering wreck now. I set the self-destruct before we left."

"Oh. Wait... you gathered our supplies, set the self-destruct, _and_ carried me? My hero."

He chuckled. "Jack O'Neill school of survival, Sam Carter's lessons on the most effective way to blow up pretty much anything, and sessions in the gym with Teal'c. Just following my training, doing what I was taught to do."

"I'll say," she sighed, letting her eyes close. "Any sign of a Jaffa patrol?"

"Nothing yet, but our chances of running into one are only going to increase the closer we get to the Stargate. I'm not really sure how far away it is, though, but I think we're heading in the right direction." When Vala didn't answer, he tapped her cheek gently, trying to rouse her. Instead, she merely murmured sleepily and kept her eyes closed.

Keeping a person with a concussion awake was a myth, if he remembered Janet Frasier's lessons correctly, but medical treatment was necessary. Vala's pupils had been mostly even, so he didn't think the damage was severe. Neither of them could afford to waste the time for him to try to get her conscious and mobile, though. He re-attached the second pack, then carefully lifted her into his arms.

Perhaps as much as a half hour later, she stirred again, peering up at him through her lashes. "You're all sweaty."

Daniel sighed, nodding. "It's warm out, I'm still wearing a coat, and I'm also carrying two packs and you. You're not exactly a feather-weight either."

"Oh," she replied. "Put me down then, I think I can walk." He did as she asked, and though she swayed slightly, remained on her feet. "Want to give me one of the packs?"

"How about you just work on staying upright?" he answered, steading her as she swayed again.

"Good idea."

He kept their pace slow at first, but once it became apparent that Vala was able to move under her own power well enough, Daniel increased speed. He'd momentarily considered trying to use some of the trail-concealing techniques Teal'c had shown him once, but dismissed the idea as unnecessary. The Stargate was their intended destination, and any Goa'uld or Jaffa with even half a brain would know that. Greater delay in reaching the 'Gate would mean more patrols could be called out to search and more guards stationed at the device.

The second pack kept banging into the backs of his thighs as he walked. Finally, Vala became exasperated enough to demand he hand it over to her. It was the lighter of the two packs, but the removal of its encumbrance allowed him to resume his normal stride instead of the shorter, quicker steps he had been taking.

About two more hours into the walk, they heard the distinct sounds of a Jaffa patrol, crashing and stomping through the woods in the distance. Pressing against solid tree trunks, they waited until the noises faded before resuming their course, quickening the pace just a little more. Half an hour later, Daniel called a halt and encouraged Vala to sit, drink more water, and take more pain medication. The trip was taking its toll on her, and though she protested the rest, it was clear to him that it was much-needed. He would have liked for her to rest even longer, but time was not on their side.

It was beginning to get dark when he heard a distant horn. "I guess they found our trail," he sighed when another horn answered the first. "Sorry, Vala, but we won't be able to stop again."

"It's okay," she answered. "We can walk all night if needed."

"We don't have much _choice_," he agreed. "Good thing we got our naps in on the _tel'tak_, eh?"

"_You_ napped, I... watched you sleep."

"You did?"

"Well, I slept, too. Besides, I also got a little nap in while you carried me, so I'm rested."

Daniel shook his head. "You have a mild concussion. That's going to make you sleepy. If you need to stop, let me know... I'll carry you some more."

"Your arms are tired. I'll be fine."

"Vala..."

"Just keep walking, Daniel," she sighed.

Night had already fallen when they heard the first signs of their pursuers. Since they'd been keeping to a mostly-straight line--or so he hoped--Daniel changed their direction slightly, angling toward what he thought was the southeast. It would cut into their time a little, but might serve to keep them out of trouble if the Jaffa were not good at tracking in the dark.

The sounds of pursuit continued to increase, and he slid his zat out of the pocket of his coat to have it ready. Vala was staggering and he worried how effective her shots would be if it came down to a fight. She was struggling doggedly onward, though, refusing to slow him down any. Her stubborn nature was one of the reasons he loved her, after all.

A glance backward showed about a dozen Goa'uld torches shining through the trees behind them. The patrol had spread out, too, perhaps having discovered that Daniel and Vala were no longer moving in a straight line. He resisted the urge to speed up again, knowing that their increased pace would only make them easier to spot and hear.

She stumbled then, a soft cry escaping her lips before she could stop it. Eyes widened in fear, they glanced over their shoulders as one of the Jaffa behind them shouted.

"Crap," Daniel muttered, searching around for cover. "There are some bushes over there," he whispered, pointing. "Hide, Vala."

"Not without you," she replied.

"I'm not going to just stand here, if that's what you think. _Let's_ hide, then. C'mon."

Working together, they made their way over to the dark clump of bushes nearby and slid into the undergrowth. Peering through the branches, Daniel primed his zat and waited, trying to keep his breathing quiet and under control. The pool of light from the torches illuminated the Jaffa carrying them, making them easy targets if he were to open fire. It also revealed something else: not all the Jaffa had the same emblem tattooed on their foreheads. Rebels, maybe?

The sound of activating staff weapons chilled him to the bone. "_Onac, kree!_" yelled one of the soldiers, the tip of his weapon pointed unerringly at Daniel and Vala's hiding place.

Realizing their location had been made, he aimed his zat. "_Shal'kek nem'ron_," he replied, remembering the passphrase Teal'c had taught him.

"You will die begging for mercy before your god, Osiris!" the Jaffa retorted. "Show yourselves!"

Daniel's heart sank. Clearly these were not rebels but loyal converts, and now that the rest of the search party had returned, he and Vala were out-numbered six-to-one. "We're representatives of the Han family. Our ship was damaged in an ion storm, which is why we were forced to divert to this planet. Please allow us to return to the Chappa'ai so that we may report to our masters."

"Osiris has no agreement with the Hans."

He sighed. "Surely, as a former servant of Heru'ur, you understand what benefit the Hans provide to others of the galaxy. We were... on a rescue mission, bringing emergency food supplies to a world whose Chappa'ai is currently inaccessible."

"Give me proof you are who you say you are and I will consider it."

Daniel nodded, turning to Vala. Her eyelids were at half-mast, but she kept blinking rapidly as though trying to keep herself awake. Thinking for a moment, he enfolded her in a one-armed hug, the hand not wielding the zat stealing to his nape before coming to a rest on hers. When he pulled away, the Han amulet he once wore was around her neck, instead.

"C'mon... they might let us go without a fight," he urged her, pulling Vala to her feet.

"Okay," she agreed weakly, swaying dangerously.

"We're coming out now," he warned the Jaffa. Shifting the zat to his left hand, he carefully held onto his partner and emerged from the bushes. He held the weapon away from his body so that they could see he was not preparing to use it. It was soon yanked from his grasp.

The Jaffa who spoke approached slowly, handing his torch to a fellow soldier, one bearing the mark of Ra upon his forehead. "Where is your proof?"

"I don't have any, personally," he answered. "I am merely employed by the Hans. My companion, however, is one of the cousins and bears their amulet."

"Da--" Vala began, frowning.

"Shush," he replied, cutting her off before she could complete his name. "Your head injury is making you confused."

Reaching out a hand, the Jaffa held the amulet briefly, then nodded. "It is as you say. This woman was once blended, however."

"No, she merely has naquadah in her blood from an accident in her youth," he lied. "Will you let us go, please?"

The Jaffa's eyes narrowed. "You say _you _have no proof of your identity."

"I do not."

"Then _she_ is permitted to leave. _You_ are not. You will remain here until my Lord Osiris arrives, and perhaps he will be kind enough to let you go as well."

He froze, but quickly recovered his equilibrium. "I understand. Thank you." Daniel was torn between panic and relief. On the one hand, Vala was going to get to return through the Stargate, but on the other...

Well, Osiris would not be inclined to let him leave alive.

"What's going on?" Vala asked, struggling to remain awake and upright.

"They're going to escort you back to the Stargate," he answered, turning toward her and slipping his hands through her hair. "I have to stay and talk to their leader, though."

"Talk?"

"Yeah. She's an old friend of mine, it turns out. We have some catching up to do, I guess."

Vala frowned, the concussion inhibiting her efforts to keep up with his words. "Okay," she answered at last.

He hadn't lied. Later, if Vala were to replay this conversation in her head, she would probably think he had. He liked to think he'd be able to escape so that he could return to her and tell her that he hadn't betrayed their trust with his words, hadn't said anything false.

It was what he _didn't_ say that was the betrayal. Osiris, whose host was his ex-girlfriend Sarah Gardner, would likely not let him live long. By conferring the limited protection of the Han family to Vala, he was desperately hoping the Jaffa would let her leave the planet before the Goa'uld arrived. He couldn't bear the thought of her being tortured and used against him, as she inevitably would be if she stayed.

Daniel pressed his lips against hers, conveying as much of his love as he could in this long, tender kiss. He was terrible at goodbyes, though he had plenty of practice with them. This one he wanted to leave Vala so that when she finally got over being angry with him for his deceit, she would remember how much he cared for her.

"We're ready," he announced, drawing away from her at last and cradling her sagging form against his chest. "She's hurt, though."

"We will carry her," answered the Jaffa wearing the symbol of Ra.

He nodded shakily. "Let's go."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Sorry, but it has been a while since I was last this evil... I missed it! 

Mmm... yes, I'm also "loving" this 45 minute delay between posting and the chapter's appearance...

//45 minutes later, thumps her head against the desk// Make that an HOUR and a half...

...Wow... two hours later. //snort//


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The sunlight streaming into the room burned into her eyes, making her head throb even with her lids firmly shut. Moaning in discomfort, she turned her head, rolled over, and pulled her pillow over her head.

"Miss Vala?" asked a concern-filled voice. "Are you awake?"

"Mmph," she replied, her mouth pressed against the linen sheets. Now that she'd taken care of the light, she wanted the _noise_ to go away, too. Couldn't anyone let her have a hangover in peace?

"You've been unconscious for several hours," continued the speaker, oblivious to Vala's wishes. "We were beginning to become most concerned. I'll be right back with Mother."

Lifting the pillow cautiously, Vala frowned. "Unconscious?" There was no reply, though, and she realized her visitor had already left the room. Puzzling over the odd behavior, she lifted her hand to brush the hair out of her face, jerking back when her own touch produced a nauseating wave of pain.

When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sound of approaching footsteps. Seconds later, Han Yuna and her daughter Mai appeared in the doorway. "You are still awake!" the matriarch exclaimed happily.

"Loud," she muttered, fingers fluttering back to the extremely sore spot she'd discovered on her forehead. "Bright."

"Mai, dear, please draw the shade. The evening sun is hurting her eyes." There was a creak of wood as she seated herself in the chair next to Vala's bed, then a rustle of fabric and bamboo heralded the welcome darkening of the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungover," she answered, "like I've just woken up from the biggest party of my life. Unfortunately, I don't remember."

"Remember what?"

"The party. Obviously, I went and got myself smashed, but I'm not sure about the knot on my head. Would someone bring me my healing device so I can make my headache go away so I can actually _think_ for a moment or two?"

"You can do that?" asked Mai curiously. "I didn't know you could use it on yourself."

Vala squinted an eye open. "Assuming I can get my brain working well enough to try, yes."

There was another rustle of fabric, then something cool and metallic was placed in her hand. Curling her fingers around the familiar shape, she lifted the round device to just above her forehead and struggled to get her brain coherent enough to will the healing stone to activate. Finally, after what felt like a monumental effort, she felt it turn on and began to feel its effects almost immediately.

Using one of these devices on oneself was entirely different from using it on another. From what she had discovered in a conversation with a so-called Tok'ra healing expert, self-use was risky because the wielder was running a chance they could be hyper-aware of the physical condition or not aware enough. Either situation was dangerous. Being too sensitized could make it difficult to stay focused on the task and not the results, while too-little sensation could lead to mistakes.

As the fog in her head cleared, Vala was able to concentrate better, and soon had the task finished. Pushing herself to an upright position, she looked around the room, suddenly recognizing it as the chambers she shared with Daniel whenever they stayed at the Hans'. In fact, this was the room in which she'd _last_ used the healing device, turning its energies about the swollen knee of--

"Daniel!" she gasped. "Where is he?"

Yuna sighed. "We were hoping you could tell _us_. Eight glasses ago, the Stargate activated and you were pushed through, lying atop a long, flat board so that whoever sent you here didn't need to go through the tunnel, too. We _thought_ maybe it was Master Daniel, but why wouldn't he have come with you?"

Vala blinked, mouth gaping until she was able to collect enough of her wits to shut it. "He's not _here?_"

"No."

"That's odd," she replied, biting her lip nervously. "The last thing I remember was... re-routing power. We were losing it for some reason, and I had to try to keep us going long enough to get to a planet with a Stargate."

"What happened then?"

Sighing, she rubbed at her temples. "Well, we got there, obviously. You said I came through the 'Gate, right?" Yuna nodded. "Okay, so we got to the planet, then... oh no, there were three Goa'uld ships waiting there. Gliders too. I think we were shot down."

"That's probably when you hit your head," the matriarch guessed. "What about Master Daniel?"

Vala shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember."

This must be something of what it was like for Daniel. In her case, though, she had lost only several hours, maybe as much as a day, whereas he initially was missing nearly forty years. The importance was no less, however, and those lost hours possibly held the answer to where he was now and how she had come to be returned through the Stargate to the Hans without him.

"Perhaps it will come to you in time," Yuna offered, giving her a motherly pat on the thigh. "Do you feel up to joining the family for dinner?"

"Dinner? What time is it?"

"It's evening, of course."

Of course it was, the bedroom window faced to the west. "This is one of those times when 'Gate travel is _so_ confusing. It was evening when we left Katana, evening when we arrived on... that planet, and now it's evening again?"

She rolled her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck, stopping when her fingers encountered a thin metal chain. Looking down, Vala stared in surprise at the Han amulet now resting in her palm. "When did...?"

"You were wearing it when you came through the Stargate," Mai answered.

Cold realization settled in her stomach like a block of ice. "It's Daniel's."

"That was our conclusion as well."

She let the pendant fall back to her chest, clenching her fists in frustration. "That son of a bitch."

Yuna blinked in surprise. "Who?"

"Daniel!" she snapped. "Why else would he give me his amulet, if not to save me from capture by the Goa'uld at cost to himself?"

The Han women were taken visibly taken aback by her vehemence, exchanging startled looks with one another. "I'm sure he only did it to--"

"--To be a self-righteous, noble idiot with a martyr complex!" she howled in interruption, slamming her fists on either side of her. The result was rather disappointing, as the soft mattress took the impact with hardly a sound. Snarling, she leaped off the bed and stormed out of the room, stomping down the hall as ineffectually has she'd pounded the mattress.

"Miss Vala, wait!" Mai cried, running out of the room ahead of her slower-moving mother. "Where are you going?"

"To beat the hell out him and drag him back here by his _ears_ if I have to," she replied through clenched teeth, refusing to be stopped.

"But you will need your clothes and equipment," the younger Han persisted.

Halting abruptly, Vala looked down at her attire and noticed, for the first time, that she'd dressed in a simple cotton shift while she was unconscious. The lack of satisfying volume to her stomping could be attributed to her bare feet. "Where are my clothes?"

"All your belongings are in your room," Mai replied calmly. "You were sent through with your pack fastened to your belt."

"Fine. I'll get dressed, _then_--"

Yuna leaned against the doorway. "Do you have a plan?"

Vala rolled her eyes, walking around the older woman and crossing to where her pack lay beside the bed. "No, but I'll make it up as I go along. I don't have much time, you know. The Jaffa said Osiris was on his way."

"Osiris?" the matriarch repeated.

"Yes. Daniel said something about staying to talk to the Jaffa's leader, though, said he knew her from his past."

Yuna shook her head sadly. "Osiris' current host is a female Tau'ri."

She nearly dropped the pants she held before she recovered enough to slip her legs into them. "That bastard. He _knew_. He knew he was going to be brought before Osiris if he stayed and he didn't try to fight. Of _course_ she'll recognize him, and then she'll go and tell Anubis who her Jaffa have caught and then..."

"Then he dies," the matriarch finished sadly.

"Worse," Vala replied, fastening the last clasp on her shirt and shutting the pack with a hard yank on its cord. "Daniel met Anubis when... when Daniel was of a higher form of life. Anubis is going to want to know everything Daniel knows about Ascension."

Mai let out a surprised squeak. "Ascension? As in the teachings of Enlightenment?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Daniel once told me that that kind of knowledge should never be allowed to fall into Goa'uld control, and now the fool has gone and handed himself over to the enemy."

Yuna shook her head in denial. "I wish there was something I could do to help. Our hands are tied, though, as we cannot openly defy the Goa'uld."

"Give me another amulet," she replied. "If I can get there before Osiris does, I may be able to convince the Jaffa to let Daniel go, too."

"That may work," the younger woman nodded, slipping her own amulet off without hesitation and handing it to Vala. "I'll get another one later."

Tucking the pendant into her pants pocket, Vala expressed her thanks. "Walking through the 'Gate might not be the most brilliant plan ever, but it's the only plan I have. Contact Kazo and tell him what has happened. If I don't return in... in twelve hours, have him to tell the Tau'ri, give them the coordinates for..." She trailed off, weakened knees giving out and depositing her on the edge of the bed.

"The coordinates for the planet?"

"I don't know them," she realized. "Daniel's the one who entered it into the navigational computer... I was busy working on the power systems and didn't notice."

Yuna closed her eyes. "Mai, go the library and pull a list of all the planets known to be held by Osiris. I'll get started with some of the field agents, find out Osiris' current whereabouts. It isn't much, but maybe we can help you narrow the search and possibly arrive before the Goa'uld does."

"Any help I can get, I'll take," she answered, steeling herself inwardly and rising to her feet again. She then set off down the hall once more, walking and talking at the same time. "I'll go talk to Sarilis, find out what she knows, then return here as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the great the danger Daniel is in... all of us, actually, if what he thinks might be buried in his subconscious is still there. Anubis could easily conquer the entire galaxy with that information."

"Truly?"

"'Gate Builder knowledge," she replied grimly.

Stepping out the front door, she crossed the courtyard to the Stargate and began to punch the coordinates for Katana. A sudden thought struck her then, and she spun around. "Do either of you have anything to write on? Okay, then memorize this address, Mai... the planet we crashed on was less than twelve hours from these coordinates."

She toggled the reset on the pedestal, then began to enter a new set of symbols. Luckily she _had_ seen the address for Taonas, the first planet on Daniel's list. When she got to the sixth symbol, she stopped, waiting until Mai gave a nod and disappeared back into the house.

"We anxiously await your return," Yuna stated gravely.

"I'll be back soon," Vala promised, stepping into the wormhole to Katana.

Once on the other side, she practically ran down the hill, dodging through the streets until, panting, she reached Sarilis door. It was night, so the front entrance was locked. Grumbling in frustration, she dashed around to the back of the building and climbed up the stairs, pounding on the door until the sleepy-looking former bounty hunter opened it a crack.

"Vala! I thought you and Daniel were going to be gone a few days."

"We were," she replied, shifting impatiently, "but he's been captured by the Goa'uld and I need your help."

The redhead's eyes widened, then she unhooked the chain and held the door open for the younger woman. "I'll meet you downstairs," she promised, disappearing down the hall.

Slamming the door shut behind her and setting the locks, Vala turned to her own room, deciding to retrieve her rarely-used ribbon device in case she needed it. She had no intention of engaging in a fight at all, but it was better to be prepared for anything than not.

When the overhead lights brightened at her touch, she strode over to the bed and dropped her pack atop it, bending to pull out the bag in which she kept her most treasured possessions. She paused midway down, though, eyes lighting on something else.

It was Daniel's scarf, the one made for him by the people of Makosis. She crawled across the bed toward the garment, fingers stretching out to touch the soft knit. It had been carelessly left on the edge of the table on Daniel's side of the bed, but it was suddenly as though there was nothing else in the room worth noting.

The blue was too dark, and yet it still reminded her of his eyes. There were shadows haunting those wondrous orbs, wisps of the many tragedies he'd witnessed and been unable to prevent. In the darkness of the woods, his gaze had captured her own even has his lips claimed hers, telling her without words that he was freely giving her his only chance to escape. She'd been too befuddled to protest, too confused to realize his intentions.

The gold was supposed to have been representative of his hair, but it was too light. It was, she decided, a better depiction of his heart. He was not a man who gave his affections away easily, and yet he was always willing to help another. He knew full well what personal danger he'd be placing himself in, yet he'd unflinchingly sacrificed his own freedom to ensure hers. He loved her so much that in this moment, she hated him for it.

Burying her face in his scent, she cried.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
I know, you hate me, too... but I feel the love anyhow! The next milestone has been reached, though: 100,000 words! 


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

It took eight steps to cross the room, and that was if he kept his stride shortened.

Daniel sighed and paced again, bored and anxious and--admittedly--more than just a little scared. Several hours ago, though he didn't know for sure how many, he had been permitted to dial the 'Gate address for the Hans' world, then watch as Vala was sent through to safety. Any other time, he would have been very much interested in the smooth-bottomed sliding board, curious to see how such an item was used by the local population in hunting, farming, or perhaps even recreation. Instead, he gazed on at his departing partner while two enormous Jaffa held his arms so that he couldn't attempt a mad dash toward the 'Gate.

When the wormhole snapped shut, it was though he was a marionette whose strings had just been severed. He hadn't had any plan other than making sure that Vala would not be in harm's way when Osiris discovered the identity of her prisoner. Of course, he'd like to try to escape on his own before she arrived, but making such an attempt while surrounded by a dozen fully-armed Jaffa was probably _not_ in his best interests for continued health.

He held no illusions about his fate _after_ Osiris arrived, however. In the two confrontations he'd had with the Goa'uld, she'd made her hatred for him plain. She wasn't above trying to use him to get information, though, and he doubted he would care for her "questioning" methods, _especially_ if she had a sarcophagus with her.

The door to his cell rattled. Stopping and turning, Daniel felt his heart began to pound. Had she already arrived?

Thankfully, it was the leader of the Jaffa patrol who stepped into the cell, followed by the taller Jaffa marked with the symbol of Ra. The door was pulled shut behind, and Daniel stood with his arms folded, waiting.

"You have lied to us."

"I have?"

"You said you worked for the Hans."

He shrugged. "True, but I'm actually one of the cousins. My friend worked for them, too. She needed medical attention, so I was more than happy to give her my amulet, to let her go through the Stargate in my stead. If I had said otherwise, would you have let us _both_ go?"

"No," the leader replied. "Osiris will likely be displeased enough that I have let even one of you leave. If I had released you both, she would surely execute the entire patrol."

Daniel didn't think the Goa'uld's displeasure would be so great once she found out her captive's identity. Instead of vocalizing his worries, however, he nodded. "Well, thanks anyway."

"You are surprisingly resourceful and clever for a human," the Jaffa continued.

"For a human," Daniel echoed.

"Most humans I have ever encountered have been fearful of their gods. They are foolish and ignorant. You are not."

"I'm not from one of the normal Goa'uld-controlled worlds, if that's what you're asking."

"How did you know what to say?" blurted the former follower of Ra.

He frowned. "Say what?"

"The pass phrase of the resistance. How did a Han come to know this?"

"Oh. Well... I happen to have met one of the rebel leaders."

"Raknor?"

"No, Teal'c."

The first Jaffa sucked in a breath. "You have met Teal'c of the Tau'ri?"

He nodded again. "So you two are in the resistance?"

The Jaffa exchanged a look. "We are. Unfortunately, none of the other Jaffa in the patrol were to be trusted. I have sent them back to investigate the wreckage of your ship so that they will be unable to report that I let the woman go free. Still, I am fairly confident that when Osiris finally arrives, he will merely order your death--"

"'Merely,'" he snorted, resuming his pacing.

"--But we can 'dispose' of you through the Stargate without actually executing you."

Daniel shook his head. "That's a great idea, but it won't work. I have to leave _before_ Osiris gets here. When she sees me, she'll recognize me."

"'She' will recognize you?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Osiris' host is a woman I once knew, with whom I was once intimate, even. If I don't find a way to escape now, things are going to get a lot worse. There wouldn't happen to be a sarcophagus here, would there?"

"There is not."

"Well, unless she brings one with her, I won't have to worry about her killing and reviving me, at least. It still won't be a picnic, though."

"Picnic?" questioned the taller, blond-haired Jaffa.

"It's an expression." He stopped, closing his eyes. "You can call me Theadan, by the way."

"I am called Nekor," supplied the shorter Jaffa. "This is Morlam."

"Great. I don't suppose there's any way you'd be willing to help me escape..."

Nekor shook his head. "It would be dangerous. The numbers of the resistance are small on this world, though growing daily. For many, there has been too much evidence the Goa'uld are not the immortal gods they claim to be."

"Ra first held this world when I was a boy," elaborated Morlam. "Upon his death, Heru'ur claimed his father's territories. It was taken by Apophis after that, then nearly forgotten when he was vanquished. When Osiris returned from exile, he--_she_ reclaimed many of Ra's old holdings."

Daniel sighed. "Why do so many of your brothers continue to believe the Goa'uld are gods, then? Surely they've begun to see a pattern. Since the fall of Ra, many of the most powerful System Lords have met their demise."

"They do not see that the Jaffa have had any impact on these events."

"Teal'c was _there_ when Apophis was finally destroyed. He was also present when Heru'ur was killed, as was Raknor. Maybe he didn't have a direct hand in either event, but he was still very much a part of it."

Nekor frowned. "You speak as though you know from experience."

"Among other professions, I am a scholar and historian," he answered at length. "I know a great many things, experienced or otherwise. For example, it was Teal'c who killed Cronus." Of course, he neglected to clarify _which _Teal'c had slain the false god. Explaining the concept of a robot duplicate was simply more information than most needed to know. "Oh, and he killed Imhotep, too."

Morlam and Nekor exchanged a brief look of surprise. "We must... we must speak of these events to our brothers. You have given us many things on which to think, Theadan. Osiris is expected to arrive this evening, however, so if we are to act on your behalf, we must do so quickly. In the meantime, someone should arrive soon with your morning meal. I am sure you must be famished."

Truth be told, Daniel didn't think he could eat anything at all, but he wasn't about to turn away such hospitality. It was far better treatment than he'd come to expect from Jaffa soldiers: he hadn't been struck even _once_. Of course, it spoke altogether-too-sadly of his past experiences that he was so familiar with the "usual" behaviors of Jaffa captors.

With the two rebels gone, Daniel resumed his pacing. If the length of the day was in any way similar to that of Earth, he probably had about twelve hours before Osiris was expected to arrive. Somehow, in that time, he either needed to find a way to escape on his own or at least help the resistance to make it look as though he _had _escaped on his own.

He never considered himself as much of a strategist, but he'd certainly studied the past enough to be even somewhat of an expert on military history. Combining that with the skills learned from Jack, Sam, and Teal'c--plus some of the more unorthodox ideas of Vala--he could _surely_ formulate a plan which got him offworld safely without running the risk of compromising the safety or identities of the rebels.

Vala, of course, would point out that ther own lives came before that of the rebels, and he was inclined to agree in this case. Although the Jaffa were often erroneously blamed for crime's perpetrated by their "gods", it still did not bely the fact that many Jaffa held themselves to a strict code of honor. Self-sacrifice was valued as one of the greatest honors a Jaffa could bestow upon his fellows.

The room was solid; he'd already checked. His pack, zat, and pistol had all been taken from him along with his pack and now he was left with nothing to do to keep his mind occupied. Osiris was coming, and unless the rebels could agree to help him stage an escape, he would still be here, waiting for her arrival.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Sorry about the wait there, folks. I had a family emergency pop up which required me and my Jeep to help solve. Everything's been taken care of now, but I'm tired, sore, and sleepy.

Have a lovely weekend and I'll "see" you on Monday!


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"The first and most obvious means of travel--the Stargate--is out of the question."

"They let me through before," Vala protested.

Sarilis shook her head. "They let you through injured and unconscious. I doubt the Jaffa will be happy to let you just walk right on through, flash your amulet, and demand they turn over their prisoner to you. For one thing, you don't know for certain they didn't recognize Daniel."

"If that was the case, why did they let _me_ go, then?"

"Letting you go was extremely uncharacteristic as it was. Getting a second amulet was brilliant, dear, but I don't think it will be of much use in this case. They should have kept you both, injured or not, until such time as a decision could be made by the First Prime, a lesser Goa'uld, or Osiris herself... or Anubis. None of the Jaffa who captured you was the First Prime, correct?"

"I honestly don't know," Vala admitted. "It was dark. They had torches, true, but I wasn't really paying attention."

"I'll guess not, then," Sarilis guessed, "or you would probably have seen a glint of gold." She paced in front of the counter behind which she kept all her repair tools. "It could have been a field patrol, then, and not garrison-based. If so..."

"What?"

"How is your Goa'uld impression these days?"

Vala blinked. "Other than one use of the voice modulator, I haven't had to pretend to be Qetesh since Daniel came along, since he's helped me keep up a steady income. No more skimming riches off the hard work of Qetesh's former slaves, that's for sure. Daniel wouldn't approve anyway."

"No, he wouldn't," Sarilis agreed. "But I don't think he'll mind us playing a little mind game with the local Jaffa. Most Goa'uld aren't aware that Qetesh is dead, as she was really quite minor in the grand scheme of things, correct?"

"Other than Baal's occasional overtures to try to convince her to become his Queen, that's right. Oh, and a one-time entanglement with Athena."

Sarilis rubbed her hands together. "Excellent. You, my dear, are going to ring right into the stronghold on that planet and demand the Jaffa return your slave."

"My slave?"

"Daniel, of course. He and your... _lo'taur_ stole something from you and since you can't find the _lo'taur_--who, quite fortunately, looks just like you--you'll just have to get the information out of her lover. Then you wave your little ribbon device menacingly, the Jaffa drag Daniel to you, and the two of you ring back to the ship."

"What ship?"

The former bounty hunter grinned. "We'll just have to borrow one, won't we? I hear Andron's had a recent string of luck, so why don't I pay him a visit?"

Vala gaped. "Andron has a ship? Since when?"

"Only recently," Sarilis answered. "Here's the deal, girl: you go find out what you need to find out from your Han friends, while I worry about acquiring the services of our portly little friend. I'll meet you in the field next to the town walls."

She nodded vigorously, thanking her friend for her help. "I know you really have no reason to care what happens to either of us, but--"

The older woman laid her hand on Vala's shoulder. "In the last two years, girl, you've become like a daughter to me. A rebellious teenage one, at times, but a daughter nonetheless. I've never seen you quite so happy as you have been since Daniel came into your life, so I will do whatever I can to help bring him back to you."

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Vala inwardly cursed her recent emotional instability while outwardly professing her gratitude again. Together, the two women grabbed their respective packs and headed out into Katana's early dawn, separating once the front door to the shop was securely locked.

Returning to the Stargate again, she felt as though she was in a daze, the last who-knew-how-many hours little more than an exhausting blur. She'd pretty well sorted out what she _could_ remember, though there were gaps from the time she first began attempting evasive maneuvers from the pursuing death gliders until she woke up in the forest in Daniel's arms, as well as from the time he kissed her farewell until waking in her bedroom at the Hans' palace. Most of the trek through the woods, though, was surreal and disorienting. Time seemed to compress and contract until she really had no idea how long they'd been running from their pursuers.

Of course, the amount of time spent in the forest didn't really matter. The important thing to keep track of was how long it had been since she and Daniel were separated. It had been approximately eight hours--or glasses on the water clock, as the case may be--from the time she was pushed through the Han 'Gate until she'd awakened in her room. She'd spent another two hours talking to first Yuna and Mai, then Sarilis.

Before the wormhole had even snapped shut behind her, Vala was halfway across the Han courtyard, Yuna and Mai coming out of the side door of the house to meet her. The older woman was still in her loose silk robes, but her daughter had changed into a functional-looking coverall, complete with utility belt and holstered pistol. She looked quite ready for action.

"Osiris' last-known location was Rumares," the matron announced without preamble. "At the top speeds capable to even the most advanced Goa'uld ships, it would take her approximately seventeen to twenty hours to reach the only star system Mai could find within the radius you described."

"And we've already lost ten of those," she replied, crossing her arms. "I'll never get there before she does."

"Not necessarily," Mai corrected. "That would assume that Osiris was informed immediately after you were sent through the Stargate and instantly departed Rumares for the outpost. That's highly doubtful, though, so you may have a few more hours than that."

She sighed. "I'm hearing a 'but' in there somewhere."

The younger woman nodded. "_But_ Osiris might already have been on her way for some other reason. Either way, without the same sort of advanced engines, it would take us fifteen hours to get there at top speeds. There's a shuttle being prepped as we speak, and--"

"What about from Katana?"

Yuna frowned. "You have a ship there?"

"Sarilis has promised to secure one. She's come up with an incredibly crazy plan that just might be ridiculous enough to work."

Digging into one of her belt pouches, Mai produced a small hand-held computer. Punching the glyphs for Katana into the device, she looked up with a smile. "That saves us about two hours."

"'Us?'" Vala repeated.

"I'll be going with you, of course," she answered. "We've sent a message to Father, and he promised to inform the Tau'ri immediately. Master Daniel's team, SG-1, left the negotiations the day before yesterday, but the remaining team can always relay the message to their homeworld."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Speaking of which... what is Miss Camir's plan?" Yuna asked.

"I'm to pose as Qetesh and demand my escaped 'slave' be returned to me, since the Jaffa were foolish enough to allow my _lo'taur_ to escape when they captured him."

The matron beamed. "That is most clever indeed! Do you have everything you need to pull off the deception?"

"A ribbon device and a Tok'ra voice modulator," Vala answered. "That should be enough."

"No, it won't," Mai corrected, "you need an appropriate outfit, too."

She could have smacked herself. Qetesh had always dressed so that hardly anything was left to the imagination. Vala preferred more subtle clothing for herself... but only slightly so. Actually, since Daniel had come along, she'd begun to dress more conservatively, as he'd proven to be better-relaxed around her when she wasn't attired quite so distractingly. "I could go back to one of my old haunts and round up a garment or two," she began, "but I hate to delay further."

Yuna spun around and waved to one of the servants crossing the far side of the courtyard. "Go to Missus Qiu-Shan and bring back her hand-welter, a spare cutter, and a bolt each of black and red silk--no patterns or as unadorned as she can find. We are clothing a Goa'uld Queen, so be quick!"

"We won't actually make an entirely new garment," Mai smiled, "but make a few modifications to something you already possess. We'll have plenty of time on the way there."

"But I don't know how to sew!" Vala protested, wondering just how and when this entire rescue operation had been taken completely out of her hands.

"You won't need to, Miss Vala, just leave it to me," the Han daughter replied confidently.

A few minutes later, the breathless servant rushed back outside, two pieces of folded cloth draped across one arm and a covered basket firmly in-hand. "Missus Qiu-Shan put together a kit for you, Missus Yuna," he gasped, handing over his burden.

Mai intercepted the load. "These will work nicely. Let's hurry, Miss Vala... we haven't time to lose!"

Vala nodded and turned back toward the Stargate, only to turn a complete circle back to Yuna. "Oh! I almost forgot: I need to return the extra amulet!"

"Keep it," the matriarch replied. "It's time you wore one of your own."

"But I haven't taken any sort of pledge or anything," she reminded her.

Yuna waved her off with a smile. "That is a mere formality. I think we've known one another long enough to _trust_ one another, yes?"

Impulsively, Vala flung her arms around the older woman's neck, then spun around again and headed for the 'Gate. Punching in the address for Katana, she gave Yuna one last wave, then stepped into the event horizon.

Once on the other side, there was no mistaking where Sarilis could be found. In the fallow field at the bottom of the hill rested the unmistakable shape of a _tel'tak_, the hatch on the side open and waiting. A familiar figure was sitting outside of the ship on a crate or box, feet propped up on the fence post.

"Well, I like the ship too, but I didn't hire a decorator," the former bounty hunter joked when the two younger women reached the edge of the field. "Is that cloth for curtains?"

"Very funny," Vala replied, rolling her eyes. "Sarilis Camir, I'd like you to meet Han Mai. She'll be along for the trip."

Sarilis let her feet fall off their perch and stood. "You've sure grown a lot."

Mai bowed. "I believe I was six the last we met, Miss Camir."

"Well, _now_ I feel old," she sighed, digging out a control from one of the many functional pockets on her work coveralls and activating it. The crate rose on a pocket of air and was then easily pushed back inside the cargo ship.

"Where's Andron?" Vala asked, looking around the inside of the ship. She wasn't even going to ask how the former bounty hunter had come to meet the Han's eldest daughter some twenty or more years ago.

Sarilis kicked the side of the crate. "And he'll stay there until we're finished with his ship, if he knows what's good for him."

She gaped. "You shoved him in a box?"

"Of course not, girl, I asked him to climb in all on his own and stay put or I'd give him trouble with some people he _really_ doesn't want upset with him. I'm amazed he fit, truth be known. He's put on a considerable amount of girth in recent weeks."

"I _still_ want to be you when I grow up," Mai laughed, dropping the dress-making supplies on top of Andron's current abode.

"I don't plan to grow up," Vala replied, flipping her hair playfully. "Unfortunately, we have some very grown-up business to attend to, and not much time in which to do it. It'll take us twelve or thirteen hours to get to where Daniel is, so we'd better get moving."

"Ten or eleven," Sarilis corrected. "You know that toy you recovered from Hardis' ship? Turns out we can use it to boost the engines a smidge. Probably not safe to do it for long, of course, but every little bit counts, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," she agreed, putting her arms around her friend and giving her a hug. When she pulled away, the older woman looked suspiciously misty-eyed. Sarilis recovered her equilibrium by giving the crate another satisfied kick and strolling over to the pilot's seat.

Minutes later, they were safely in hyperspace, racing Osiris to Daniel.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Happy 1,000 everybody! I'm simply, well, overwhelmed by the response this //cough// monster... er, mon_strous_ tale has garnered! Of course, once the email servers are finally fixed, so too will my inbox be... overwhelmed, that is. Alas! Ladies and gents, this story is going past 60 chapters, I do believe, but I don't know how _far_ past, though. 

Darn, right?


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"This is ridiculous," Daniel snorted, peeling his shirt away from his neck and flapping it vigorously. The breeze generated by the cotton was quite relieving, even though he knew it hadn't been hot last night. In fact, he hadn't even needed to shed his coat until after his morning meal then rolled his shirt sleeves up as far as they'd go by what he presumed was midday.

Neither of the two Jaffa rebels had returned since their initial visit early this morning. In fact, the only person he'd seen at all was the stonily-silent guard who delivered his food and water and took away the covered bucket they'd seen fit to provide him for... other necessary behavior.

The food was hardly exciting fare, but he'd had worse _and_ less of it. Each meal consisted of decent-sized portion of meaty stew and a crusty round loaf that reminded him of an over-sized _brötchen_. He could draw a number of conclusions from the level of care they were exercising in his feeding, the most disturbing of which was the parallel his mind was drawing to the "last meal" many cultures granted their condemned prisoners.

He missed having a reliable watch on his wrist, one of the heavy-duty tritium chronographs that made it through heat, cold, sand, and water in a lot better shape than he had at times. Hours, like the "common" language, were another thing that was pretty much universally-observed, though the exact length and number of them in a day varied from planet to planet. If the days on this planet were longer than he thought, he could still have several more hours before it was "evening", and without a window to the outside, he couldn't use that as a guide. Either way, he knew his time was nearly expired.

Daniel winced at the inadvertent terminology. Perhaps "expired" wasn't the best way to describe his situation. In any case, his thoughts were becoming increasingly scattered as the impending arrival of Osiris drew ever nearer. He could draw solace in the fact that Vala was out of harm's way now, but he could only guess what his own fate would be.

On second thought, he'd rather _not_ guess. He had a pretty vivid imagination that _really_ needed no encouragement, and no matter what he thought could happen, a Goa'uld was sure to come up with something even worse.

He froze when the lock scraped at the door, his pulse racing in anticipation. Was it the rebels or Osiris? Was he saved or doomed?

The door burst inward, two unfamiliar Jaffa pushing into the room and seizing him by the arms. "Your goddess awaits," the one on his right sneered, giving Daniel a decidedly malicious look.

It was a futile gesture, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself from struggling against their hold once outside of the cell. He actually managed to free himself from the grip of the guard on the left, but the other Jaffa couldn't be shaken. His efforts earned him a backhand that sent him spinning, still firmly anchored by one arm.

"You would do well to show your goddess respect," the red-faced Jaffa spat, cruelly digging his fingers into his bicep.

"No false god deserves my respect," Daniel retorted, regretting the words even as they left his lips. As he was being picked up off the floor, he realized that once again, his snake-baiting tendencies were far out-pacing his sense of self-preservation... and he wasn't even to Osiris yet!

He was unceremoniously dragged through the echoing stone halls of the fortress, his "escort" apparently deciding to take no further chances with him. They rounded a corner and were suddenly in a gold-plated corridor, the clone of practically every other Goa'uld facility in the galaxy. Within moments, they were in front of an opulent door, which slid aside to reveal a decidedly different scene than what he'd expected.

At the center of the room, an uninjured and smugly superior-looking Vala Mal Doran rose from a golden throne slowly, a wicked grin spreading across her face. She was clad in one of the form-fitting leather halters she'd only recently stopped wearing, though it had been modified with sections cut out along her ribs and flanks, exposing pale skin. She wore knee-high boots and a very abbreviated red skirt, slits in the fabric making it even more dangerously-short than it first appeared. Each bicep was encircled by the same glossy red cloth, with folds of material hanging down her back from where they were connected to the bands on either side.

In short--and short was definitely the word that came to mind as his eyes were drawn back to her spectacular skirt--she looked like a walking advertisement for licentious thoughts.

"My, my," she teased, her voice deep and echoing, "I suppose you thought you'd escaped your Queen." Before Daniel could work up enough saliva to reply, she switched her gaze to the Jaffa. "Where is my _lo'taur_?."

"No woman was brought in with him, my lord," the Jaffa on the left replied unsteadily. "He is all we encountered."

"Your words betray you," Vala replied, clearly enjoying her portrayal of Qetesh, "as you acknowledge he was here with a woman. I have molded her in my image, so surely her beauty could not have gone unnoticed to fools such as yourselves."

The Jaffa stammered. "What we meant was, the woman was dead already."

She lifted her chin arrogantly. "You should know better than to attempt to lie to a god."

"Please forgive us, my lord," the guard on the right begged. "We were informed that she was a Han cousin and therefore under the protection of the System Lords."

"Gullible fools who were easily mislead," she scoffed. "Where is she now?"

"I am told _this _one," he replied, shoving Daniel in the back to move him forward, "entered the coordinates for what he said was the Han world."

"And did no one see the symbols themselves?"

"Perhaps one of the field patrol did, but none are here now." He swallowed heavily. "Shall I send for them?"

Vala's eyes narrowed. "No," she answered at last, "I shall enjoy getting the answers from this _slave_."

Daniel coughed, realizing his role in this particular drama. "I will never betray her."

She smiled sweetly, raising her left hand so he could see the ribbon device wrapped around her fingers and palm. "I would not be so certain of that." She glared at the guards. "Escort him to the rings. I will deal with him myself."

"Forgive me, my lord, but we are to wait until Osiris arrives before disposing of the prisoner."

Vala raised her hand, eyes narrowing as she caused the jewel on the device to glow menacingly. "Do not presume to question me. If Osiris wishes to have this slave, she will simply have to ask my indulgence, but only _after_ I have finished with him. Of course, there may not be anything left of him by then." She cocked her head to one side slightly, as though listening for something distant.

"My lord--"

"Do as I command!" she shouted. "Escort him to the rings, now!"

Before they'd taken two steps, there was a brilliant flash of light. Ducking his head away, Daniel glanced up through parted fingers, feeling the blood drain from his face as the source of the light was revealed.

Golden-haired and coldly beautiful, Osiris stood with her hands on her hips. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, Sarah Gardner's voice twisted by the evil creature that inhabited her body.

"I am Qetesh," Vala replied smoothly. "My _lo'taur_ and a slave recently fled my palace in possession of a stolen _tel'tak_. They crashed on this world, but before I could arrive to retrieve them, these foolish Jaffa allowed my _lo'taur_ to leave through the Chappa'ai. I intend to question my slave until he reveals where the _lo'taur_ has fled."

"They have trespassed upon _my _territories," Osiris scowled, thankfully giving Daniel no more than a cursory look. "You may have your slave _after_ I am finished with him."

"That is unacceptable."

"You have no choice."

Vala crossed her arms defiantly. "Lord Baal will not be pleased."

"I care not," Osiris snapped. "Baal is a fool."

"Is it necessary to quibble over a single slave?"

It was a mistake the moment she said it, and out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw Vala wince. Osiris, perhaps attempting to discern the worthiness of said slave, strode toward him and lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. A cruel smile spread over her lips.

"You think me for a fool?"

"I had believed you to be reasonable."

Before Daniel could react, the Goa'uld's fingers curled into his hair, yanking him painfully around and shoving him to the ground. "This is no mere slave, Qetesh. This is the Tau'ri, Daniel Jackson."

Vala was nothing if not a consummate actress. "Daniel Jackson is dead."

"Perhaps it is _you_ who is the fool."

"My name is Theadan," Daniel replied, deliberately pitching his voice higher and attempting an accent similar to Vala's.

"Silence!" Osiris snapped, clearly unimpressed. The boot she aimed at his ribs emphasized her displeasure.

"He is Theadan of Makosis," Vala confirmed. "A once-loyal servant of mine for many years."

"He possesses the power to cloud the minds of even the gods. He once tricked Lord Yu into believing him his _lo'taur_. _You_, my dear Qetesh, are yet another of his victims."

"I do not believe you."

"I don't _care_ if you believe me or not," Osiris replied dangerously, advancing on Vala like a prowling cat. "Anger me further and you will not leave this planet alive."

The dark-haired woman clenched her fists. "Do not think that I--"

Suddenly, Osiris hand shot out, tearing Vala's necklace from her throat and casting it to the ground. "Impostor," she snarled. Before Daniel's partner could raise her left hand, the blond Goa'uld struck her back-handed, sending her to the ground.

Pushing to his feet, Daniel dove at Osiris, tackling her to the ground and attempting to pin her arms. The astonishingly strong Goa'uld would have none of it, however, throwing him off with ease. As he tried to make a second attempt, the Jaffa caught up to him, once more clamping onto his arms and wrenching them painfully behind his back.

Planting her boot on Vala's wrist, Osiris pulled the ribbon device off and cast it aside. "What have we here? A former host? Daniel's new girlfriend? It doesn't matter, I will have the answers I seek from you both." She bent down and hauled Vala upright, easily leveraging the dazed woman to her feet. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
//evil cackle// 'Nuff said. 


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

"Well?" Osiris demanded hotly, left hand fisting in Vala's hair and yanking hard. Her right hand dropped to her waist, drawing a wicked-looking dagger from its sheath. The blade was lifted slowly to the shorter woman's exposed throat.

Daniel hesitated, catching the unspoken declaration of defiance his partner gave him. There was also fear in her eyes, darkening them from smoky blue to storm-gray. He recognized the look as one he'd worn a number of times himself: not afraid of death, but not prepared to accept it just yet, either.

He understood, perhaps better than anyone else possibly could have. The threat of his own death didn't even bother him any more, too many brushes--and out-right collisions--with the Grim Reaper had left him jaded, but not reckless. Dying for a cause that was just was acceptable, but giving in before all options were exhausted was not.

"Very well," the Goa'uld spat, "I'll start with 'Qetesh'. Did you not think anyone would sense you were no longer blended?"

"I hadn't planned on getting close enough to anyone for them to find out," Vala replied coolly.

"Worthless Tok'ra. All your subversions are mere child's play in a game far more dangerous than you can comprehend."

"Tok'ra? Me? Don't _insult_ me like that, please!"

"The jewel around your neck was of Tok'ra design. Do not take me for a fool."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Believe you me, I wasn't. I'm a thief--a pretty good one, if I say so myself--and have acquired a number of, ah... peculiar relics."

"I see," replied Osiris, looking as though she didn't care one way or another. "Who are you?"

"Vala," she answered, "and that's my apprentice, Theadan. Not the brightest student I've ever had, but he's decorative enough, don't you think?"

The Goa'uld scowled, pressing the tip of the dagger against Vala's neck and drawing a short line of garishly bright blood. "I am not amused."

Daniel inhaled, attempting to quell the nervous energy tightening his muscles. Without knowing if Osiris had immediate access to a healing device or a sarcophagus, he couldn't risk Vala being killed over something as simple as acknowledging his name. Osiris knew who he was, so all she sought was verification.

For the moment, anyway.

"Let her go, Sarah."

She smiled cruelly. "Nothing of the host survives, Daniel."

Arms still pinned behind him, he could only nod his head at Vala. "There's proof you're wrong."

There was a brief flicker of... something, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "Impudent as ever, I see."

"I had a good teacher," he replied. "What do you want?"

"I want many things," she answered at length, the blade moving from Vala's vulnerable throat to trace along her jawline. "You have still to give me a satisfying answer for the fate of my Queen."

"Isis?" Vala guessed, involuntarily flinching from the cool metal.

"She's dead," Daniel replied.

Osiris drew another short line just above the first. The sudden blossom of color contrasted sharply with the former host's pale skin. "Where is she?"

He shook his head. "I told you. The canopic jar in which she was trapped was apparently damaged at some point. The seal was broken. If it's any consolation, she didn't feel a thing."

The Goa'uld snarled and stepped back, releasing her hold on Vala's hair as she moved. Before Daniel could call out in warning, the jewel on her palm glowed, sending a translucent wave of energy at the helpless woman. Crying out in shock, Vala was hurled fifteen feet across the room, slamming into a wall and bouncing off it onto the floor. He winced in sympathy, but bit his lip to keep from expressing his opinion of the cowardly attack.

Osiris re-sheathed her dagger, then moved her now-free hand to the unusual protuberance on the back of her ribbon device. Two brilliant flashes of light appeared almost immediately, fading to reveal a pair of tall, armored creatures with pinpoints of blue where eyes would normally be on humanoids.

Two sets of conflicting emotions immediately sprang to Daniel's mind. The first, was curiosity and horror at what sort of nightmare had created the imposing-looking warriors. The second, was confusion and dread for how a Goa'uld had come to possess Asgard beaming technology.

Another fleeting thought left him asking himself who had modeled the black armor after the white suits worn by Imperial Stormtroopers. Sarah had always claimed to despise science fiction, which would certainly explain why she'd loathed his outlandish theories about the foundation of Egyptian society. A tiny, petty part of his mind wondered what her opinion of his ideas was _now_.

He closed his eyes, berating himself. Sarah Gardner was not a Goa'uld, but the victim of one. She deserved better.

Osiris casually strolled over to where Vala lay softly groaning, then motioned for one of the newly-arrived creatures to approach. By the ease with which it lifted his partner by her upper arms, he knew these "men" to be at least as strong as a Goa'uld.

"I will see your entire race destroyed for this," the curly-haired woman hissed coldly, stalking toward him.

"Hey!" Daniel protested. "You know, it very well could have been that no-good brother of yours, Seth. Maybe he was the one who dropped the jar, not one of us 'lowly humans'. If that's the case, you owe us a favor for killing him." He squinted his eyes as though thinking hard, then shrugged. "Well, technically it was Sam that killed him, but I'm sure she won't mind if I accept her owed favor on her behalf."

She reached out and caressed his jaw with her metal-encased fingertips, perhaps in mockery of a lover's touch. "I shall enjoy making you suffer, Daniel. I have all the memories of my host, all the fond times you shared together. I know how to bring you great pleasure and greater pain." Suddenly, she slapped him, the sharp edges of the ribbon device cutting cruelly into his skin, bringing the bitter taste of blood to his mouth. "You will beg for death before the end."

"We've already established that Isis is pretty much out of reach, now," he replied, swallowing. "I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have if you'll leave out the begging for death part."

Osiris smirked. "I know what you were, Daniel Jackson. My hand can touch you now, but it would not have not long ago. I want the secrets of Ascension. The answers are in your mind, and I will take them by force if necessary. Anubis' power is great, but _mine_ will be greater."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She gestured to the remaining armored figure, directing it to take the place of the two Jaffa who had been holding him up until now. Daniel was relieved to be able to stretch his arms from the uncomfortable position in which they'd been held for so long, but winced when he felt the tremendous pressure being applied to his shoulder by the inhumanly-strong being.

The Goa'uld placed her hands on her hips. "You are not the only one who possesses peculiar relics, Vala. I have acquired a number of devices which shall make obtaining the answers I seek far easier... and more enjoyable."

The level of enjoyment, Daniel knew, was relative. Remembering the insidious effects of the hallucinogenic drug known as the Blood of Sokar, he dreaded to think what chemicals and contraptions were at the disposal of a Goa'uld who apparently had access to Asgard technology. As bad as he believed his situation to be only an hour ago, he was only now beginning to realize just how much he'd underestimated the gravity of his situation.

"Jaffa, summon those who were involved in the patrol. Their failures have not gone unnoticed."

"Yes, my lord," the Jaffa trembled, bowing and hastening out of the throne room.

"As for the two of you," she continued, walking a figure-eight around her prisoners, "I will enjoy destroying your minds. I may even leave enough of you, Vala, to make a gift to Baal. And _you_, Daniel, will perhaps make an excellent host. The powers you posses will then be mine."

"I don't think so," he answered, lifting his chin defiantly, though the thought of having a Goa'uld in his head was... beyond terrifying.

"Take them away," Osiris ordered the silent soldiers. "I will return for them shortly." Once more touching the back of her ribbon device, she vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
To quote Jack, "Dun dun DUN!" I know, I'm being oh-so-very cruel... but it's so gosh-darn fun! Consider it my inner sadist at work. 

Osiris was always one of my favorite villains... I just LOVED the way she could say "Dahn-yel Jackson" and make it sound so NASTY!


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

It took eight steps to cross the room.

Sighing and making the turn at the end, Vala trudged in the other direction. Daniel was watching her intently, she knew, and her pacing was probably driving him crazy. _Crazier_, she amended, as she'd never met anyone who was so painfully aware and simultaneously oblivious to personal danger. He'd played the "meek slave" role up until it was obvious he could no longer pretend to be who Osiris knew he was, then dropped the facade and let his sarcastic wit run wild.

Clearly, there was some history between Daniel and the Goa'uld's host, and he'd acknowledge as such. He'd referred to her as "an old friend", but Vala now suspected there was more to it then that. Osiris was making this _very_ personal.

"Her name's Sarah Gardner," Daniel announced suddenly, as though reading her mind. He sat on the floor of the cell next to the puddle of fabric that was his discarded coat, knees tented and head leaning against the wall behind him. "We used to work together, were junior professors under Doctor Jordan, one of the leading archaeologists in our field of study. One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, we were an 'item'."

"Oh," she replied, processing this information. He'd mentioned a Sarah in conversation before, but never went into any specifics that she could recall. "I take it the relationship didn't end well?"

"Not really, no. I worked right through our anniversary, chasing one of my theories. Almost the same thing I did to Sha're, really. In the end, it worked out better that way, since I didn't have to distance myself from her when I sacrificed my career for my beliefs."

She crossed her arms. "I don't understand."

"It's complicated," he began. "Say, for example, we walked up to the people on some planet and told them everything they _ever_ believed about the origin of their society was wrong. What do you think would happen?"

"Several different things are possible," she shrugged. "They could listen, they could tell you to shut up, they could laugh at you... They could try to shut you up physically, too."

"Right. So what do you think the odds are that a room full of self-important historians would listen when the protégé of the famous David Jordan stands up on a stage and tells them that everything they've ever convinced themselves is true about the origin of the supposedly-mythological Egyptian gods--the pantheon which includes Ra, Osiris, and Anubis, among others--was false?"

Vala winced. "I guess they wouldn't be too happy. You were right though, they weren't mythical."

"Well, that wasn't exactly the point of my lecture, but you get the gist of it. I may have been right, but I couldn't _prove_ anything."

She frowned. "How can you _not?_ The proof's out here, you actually _killed_ Ra. Not even half an hour ago, you were toe-to-toe with Osiris!"

"Yes, but I didn't _know_ about the Stargate until _after_ I made myself the laughing-stock of the archaeological community. After I found out, I couldn't tell anyone because the Stargate is still a very closely-guarded secret on Earth, or at least it was before I... left. Sarah couldn't have known the risks when she opened the canopic jar Osiris was stored in, and she's been trapped inside her own head for three years as a result."

"I'm sorry," she offered, unsure of what else to say. She knew what it was like to be a prisoner of her own body better than anyone, but she carefully shied away from dwelling on it too much. All that would accomplish would be to give her additional nightmares when she already had sufficient material for a lifetime of bad dreams.

He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. "So am I. I know better than to blame myself, now, since there really wasn't anything I could have done differently. I really have _you_ to thank for that, you know."

She smiled, thinking about the number of times in the last few weeks she'd had to remind him to stop belittling himself. "You're welcome."

They lapsed into silence, Vala continuing to pace the floor and Daniel staring down at his hands. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Nice dress, by the way."

"Thanks. Mai made it for me."

"Mai?"

"You didn't think I came alone, did you?"

"I didn't think you'd come at _all._ You weren't exactly in fighting form the last I saw you." He crossed his arms. "I saw a chance to get one of us out of there and didn't really think about anything else. Didn't _think_, if you want the truth."

"I'd probably have done the same thing in your position," she agreed. In fact, she _had_ attempted the same thing once already: when Daniel was unconscious on Jaya, she'd tried to persuade Strategos Calius to free him in exchange for her full cooperation. Fortunately, it had been an unnecessary attempt, but the realization that she would have gladly sacrificed herself for him even that early in their partnership was quite startling at the time. Now, it felt only natural.

"So, if you didn't come alone, where's Mai?"

Vala bit her lip. "She and Sarilis were aboard a _tel'tak_, waiting to ring us up when we got into position. Sarilis warned me when Osiris' _al'kesh_ suddenly appeared in orbit, but since we couldn't have guessed she could translocate without using the rings..."

"How did she warn you?"

She tapped her right ear. "She gave me a very tiny transmitter. Unfortunately, she also requested a halt in communication right after it became apparent we... weren't going to make it, since the signals could potentially be traced. She said she was going to cloak the ship and hide it before gliders were sent after it, then try to find some way to come back and rescue us."

"So _we're_ not alone."

"Not really, no. Do you want me to try to get in touch with her?"

Daniel frowned. "If you don't think we'll be potentially putting them in jeopardy..."

"I think we can take the risk. I'd like to let them know we're okay for the moment." She pressed the tip of her short fingernail onto the transmission button located at the top of the device. "Sarilis, are you there? Sarilis?"

There was a crackle of static that made her jump, then a very welcome voice replied, "_Thank the blazes you're okay, girl! Where are you?_"

"Daniel and I have been rudely shoved into a rather small cell, but we're otherwise fine. I can't say that'll hold true for long, though, since Osiris is more than just a little annoyed with Daniel, and just might use me to try to get what she wants out of him."

"_I can imagine the sort of information she'd be after,_" the older woman replied. "_We settled down in the forest just north of the Stargate. Found ourselves a nice big burn patch where the two of you blew up your last ship._"

"She says she parked the ship where ours crashed," Vala relayed.

"That's about four or five hours away, by foot," Daniel guessed. "Tell her that there are some Jaffa rebels here, and if she and Mai can hook up with them, they can work together."

"Rebels?"

"Yes. If she can find them, the pass phrase needed to gain their trust is '_shal'kek nem'ron_'."

"What a noble sentiment."

"Works for them. Anyway, the two I spoke with were Nekor, formerly of Heru'ur, and Morlam, formerly of Ra. They know me as Theadan, and agreed to try to plead my case to the other rebels when I told them I knew Teal'c of the Tau'ri."

Vala quickly related this information back to her friend, adding, "Just don't anything that could get yourselves into trouble."

Sarilis laughed. "_Trouble is what I _do_, dear._"

"That's what scares me," she replied. "I remember some of the stories you've--"

She broke off as there was a sudden rattling at the door just before it burst inward, admitting the imposing warriors that had accompanied Osiris. As thunder followed lightning, the Goa'uld herself was right behind them, posing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she smirked, looking not in the least bit apologetic.

"We were just planning how we were going to escape, kill you, overthrow Anubis," Daniel listed casually, pushing himself to his feet and flashing her a smug grin. "You know, nothing important."

The Goa'uld sneered. "I'm sure. Bring them!"

"I _can _walk," Vala muttered petulantly, trying to tug her arm out of the powerful grip that immediately encased it. It was a futile effort, of course, but she could certainly see the appeal to Daniel's habit of talking back to the bad guys. Even when utterly helpless, it at least gave the illusion of _some_ level of control.

They were marched through the halls, finally arriving at a dimly-lit room, the purpose of the chamber becoming immediately clear. Shackles were bolted into the walls and a stone slab covered with grisly implements stood off to one side. There was also an uncomfortable-looking chair adorned with its own manacles, with a vaguely-familiar device resting on a low table beside it.

"You know, you really should have gone for that sale at La-Z-Boy," Daniel remarked as he was forced into the chair.

Vala didn't understand the reference, but Osiris--through her Tau'ri host--apparently did. "I'm pleased you find your situation amusing. This will go far better for you both if you cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Vala retorted, jerking her head upward at her now-shackled wrists, then at the silent guard. "Tall, dark, and mysterious over there didn't even give me half a _chance_ to cooperate."

"Silence!" Osiris snapped, reaching for something resting next to what Vala at last recognized as a Goa'uld holographic projector. Holding Daniel's head in place, she pressed her thumb against his temple.

"Ow," Daniel muttered as the memory recall device attached itself. "You know, I _really_ don't like these things."

"That's just too bad," the Goa'uld replied, activating the projector. "Let's get started, shall we? How did you and I first meet?"

"You and me? Or Sarah? What about you _pretending_ to be Sarah?"

"Take your pick."

"Doctor Jordan's funeral," he answered, and the projector obliged by producing an image of a tree-filled park, grave markers scattered about the ground. A dark-haired man in a suit was speaking, but turned to level a glare at Daniel.

"Very good," she replied, apparently pleased with both his reply and the image.

He cleared his throat, the projection fading. "You didn't have to kill him."

"Steven? Or Doctor Jordan?"

"Doctor Jordan. Despite your best efforts, my friends and I got to Steven in time to save him."

Osiris opened her mouth, then shook her head. "I am not here to answer _your_ questions. Let's move on to the next one, shall we?"

"Knock yourself out," he muttered, slouching in the chair as best it would let him.

"How did you conceal yourself from me at the System Lords' summit?"

"Magic," Daniel answered flippantly. The display promptly showed him laying his hand on Osiris' arm, the Goa'uld blinking in sudden confusion.

"How?" the real Osiris demanded. When the scene repeated itself, she turned to Vala and activated her ribbon device, lifting it toward the helpless woman's forehead.

Vala began to squirm as she felt the heat from the weapon, but steadfastly refused to cry out in pain. Daniel, however, needed no further encouragement. "The ring! I was wearing a ring the Tok'ra gave me. It had some sort of chemical in it."

Osiris shut off the ribbon and turned back to him. "What sort of chemical?"

"I'm an archaeologist, not a bio-chemist," he replied grumpily. "Either way, it probably doesn't matter since the Tok'ra base on Revanna was destroyed after that and all their research lost."

"I see," she replied. "Tell me about Ascension."

"There isn't much to tell."

"You lie."

"Actually, I'm sitting." He winced when Osiris again turned toward Vala. "But I'm also telling you the truth when I say that I don't remember much from my time as an Ascended being," he hastily amended.

"How does one achieve Ascension, then?"

Daniel's lips quirked. "One does not 'achieve' it; it's earned. I did my time, got offered the chance to turn glowy, found out it didn't agree with me after all." He shrugged. "Here I am."

Osiris clenched her jaw. "How is it earned?"

He rolled his shoulders again. "Hell if I know. I didn't think I deserved it, but the Ascended being I spoke to thought otherwise." As he spoke, a hazy, dream-like image formed above the projector. A serene woman dressed in gray stood beside Daniel as he examined the framed picture in his hands. Vala realized that the dark-haired beauty could only be his lost wife, Sha're.

"How does it work?"

The scene shifted, displaying a light-filled room, a smiling man with sad eyes waiting at the base of some sort of metal ramp. It took a moment, but then Vala recognized him as Jack O'Neill. The image moved as the memory-Daniel turned his head, facing toward the source of the blinding brilliance.

Suddenly, the projector flared brighter, hurting Vala's eyes and causing her to cry out involuntarily. As quickly as it had increased, the light faded and disappeared. Blinking back the spots dancing across her vision, she noted the angry expression on Osiris' face and mentally groaned.

"Show me!"

"I did," Daniel replied calmly, "but I don't think this technology is capable of creating an image. Sorry."

Osiris swept her hand out, sending the projector crashing to the floor. "Then we'll simply have to try something else, won't we?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whoo-hoo! I have the next... eight or nine chapters figured out in my head pretty well, so 'tis just a matter of writing them! And then, of course, finding out what do after I get past the stuff I have planned... 


	57. Chapter 57

Ladies and gents, I have fallen in love with this story all over again. If you think the first part of the chapter is familiar, go re-watch "Chimera" and keep an eye out for the differences. More comments to follow in my usual Author's Notes.

* * *

Chapter 57

Daniel laid the piece of parchment down and raised the Dictaphone to his mouth. "Amulet is likely from the twelfth dynastic period, inlaid markings suggest the royal house of Amenemhat. Possibly a gift from the King and immediate family to commemorate a birth or coming of age or..."

"It's for luck," announced an accented voice, nearly making him leap out of his skin. "Royal goldsmiths made them for the King in the hopes that the floodwaters would rise again in the Nile, granting them a bountiful crop."

Daniel blinked, turning in surprise. Of all the people he ever expected to walk into the archaeology lab while he was working, a beautiful woman was not one of them. "Good guess," he managed, switching off the recorder and rising to greet her.

She smiled shyly. "Doctor Jordan sent me a picture a few weeks ago. I suppose I had a bit of a head start."

He felt his brow furrow in confusion. Why would Doctor Jordan have sent anyone photos of the artifacts from his colleague's dig? Maybe she was a wealthy heiress interested in funding an archaeological expedition or a research grant.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, as though catching on to his bewilderment and extending her arm. "I'm Sarah Gardner."

As he shook her hand, he began to smile, relaxing when she returned the expression before releasing his hand. When the professor had announced he was bringing in a brilliant new archaeologist to ease the burden of Daniel's teaching schedule and help with the preparations for their expedition this winter, he couldn't have been more thrilled. From her impressive resume, he half expected her to be stringy-haired, bespectacled, and poorly-dressed: in short, a female version of himself. Instead, she had the form and bearing of a fashion model and a wealth of blond curls spilling over her shoulders.

Suddenly self-conscious of his own oft-disheveled appearance, Daniel ran his fingers through his hair. Abruptly, he encountered only air just past his ears, and when he curiously touched the top of his head, felt soft spikes.

When had he cut his hair? More importantly, how could he have forgotten?

"Um, I'm Daniel Jackson."

"I know," Sarah enthused, grabbing a chair and making herself comfortable at the lab table. "Doctor Jordan told me all about you, and I can't tell you how _thrilled_ I am to get to be working with you. Did you really get your doctorate before you were old enough to purchase alcohol?"

"That might explain why I don't like beer," he joked, nervous laughter stopping when he realized that she was now the one who was confused. "Um, yeah."

Talking about his age always made him uncomfortable, as everyone inevitably wanted to know how he'd had the time to do so much studying at an age when most people were graduating high school and getting themselves stupidly drunk at their first college parties. It was hard enough trying to teach classes at the university when he wasn't much older than most of his students, and had been often told he actually looked _younger_. Some of Doctor Jordan's peers even referred to him as "David's Blue-Eyed Boy", and the derogatory manner in which they spoke stated all-too-clearly that this was no compliment. To compensate, he dressed himself in baggy tweed and did his best to blend into the academic woodwork.

The new junior professor on the block took the opposite tact. With her height and looks, there was no way she could avoid attention. Instead, she chose to dress herself in flattering cuts and colors, girlish skirts and tops designed to accentuate her femininity, rather than hide it. The other archaeologist under Doctor Jordan, Steven Raynor, was much the same way. Daniel could still recall the looks of complete adoration on the faces of the female students when Steven arrived at a campus-wide fraternity-slash-sorority event dressed as a Greek god, complete with chest-baring toga.

Daniel was too embarrassed to be caught wearing shorts, let alone exposing any more skin than that. Tight clothing was out of the question, too, especially something like form-fitting leather pants.

Seriously, who would want to wear those?

Perception shifted, adjusted, and fell into place. He was seated again, concentrating on a translation and only half aware of the passage of time. Doctor Jordan had requested he brush up on his Mesopotamian mythologies, since they were preparing to do some exploration at the dig site at Tel el-Yahudiyeh and could potentially run into evidence of Semitic influence in the ruins of the Fifteenth Dynasty city.

He had just reached a passage about the goddess Kadesh when a voice suddenly announced, "Good morning."

Just like he had the first day they met, Daniel started in surprise, this time dropping his papers and pencil. "Um, hello. I'm sorry, I... I didn't hear you come in. I mean, um, how are you?"

"Fine!" Sarah beamed cheerfully, far too sunny for this time of morning.

So why was he up, too? Oh, that's right... he hadn't gone to bed yet.

"Yeah, you settling in?" he asked, turning back to his work.

"Well, except for want of a decent cup of tea, I'm in heaven."

"That's good to hear." The Greek historian who compiled this particular work suggested that the Semitic warrior-goddess Anat was linked with Kadesh, and even rather crudely suggested this made the combined goddess "ferocious in the bedchamber". Daniel thought the description was amusing, but he'd always believed Anat to be representative of the Greek Athena. Wouldn't that indicate a partnership between the two goddesses, then?

"You know, I must have read everything you've ever published," Sarah continued.

He looked over at her in disbelief. "Everything?"

"Yes."

"What a waste of time." He felt a peculiar pang in his ribs as the words left his lips, but before he could correct his self-evaluation, Sarah pressed onward, dauntless.

"Please, your theories on the Hyksos ruling dynasty are truly groundbreaking, if a little audacious."

Audacious? There was nothing audacious in theorizing that the various cultures of the ancient Middle and Near East had cross-pollinated numerous times. In fact, here before him lay another scholar's suggestion that Greek and Semitic deities might have interacted with one another. Well, if mythological figures could actually _do_ that, that is.

"I found them quite inspiring," she continued. "In fact, I referenced them in my doctoral thesis at Cambridge."

"You must have failed." Again, there was a twinge in his side, almost as though he had been running and got a brief stitch.

Since when did he go running?

Sarah laughed nervously. "Um, I just hope I can live up to such talented company."

"Well, I'm sure if you're here, then you have... you are."

"Stop. The flattery is overwhelming." Yet for all her dramatics, she didn't look in the slightest bit embarrassed. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would swear she was flirting with him.

"I should let you continue," she announced suddenly, and he agreed.

Things weren't adding up, not the least of which was this document on mythology that seemed far too familiar and real, like it was actual history. For a brief moment, he considered asking Sarah out to coffee--tea, in her case--but at last decided against it. When he looked up again, she was staring at him intently.

"You know," she began, back to all smiles. "I wondered if you would like to join me for some coffee. I'd love to pick your brain."

"I'm sure you would," he replied automatically, then cringed. "Um, I mean... sure, that's fine." His fingers automatically crept up to push his glasses up, and he felt even more the fool when they touched the bridge of his nose without encountering resistance.

Suddenly, she was sitting down beside him, placing a carry-out coffee cup next to his hand. Time had leaped forward again, leaving him feeling even more convinced that there was something not at all right. "Wasn't I just--?" he began, trailing off and staring down at his notes. Instead of a translation of the Semitic pantheon, he was looking at diagrams of an excavation.

"I've got something for you," Sarah announced suddenly, taking the wrapped bundle out from beneath her arm and laying it on the table. Peeling back the layer of fabric, she exposed a simple gray tablet covered in indecipherable squiggles.

Curiosity piqued, he reached out to touch the stone, only to have it blacken under his hands, the vague characters sharpening into squared-off glyphs he not only recognized, but could also _read_. "Where'd you get this?"

As she explained the details of the tablet's discovery, he found himself tracing the familiar letters. The wrongness of the whole scenario was screaming out to him, warning that something terrible could happen if he let this text fall into the wrong hands. Seven indecipherable symbols near the bottom of the inscription held the key to some long-lost treasure, a storehouse of power. Having only just met her, he didn't trust Sarah enough with the secrets held in this Ancient stone, and he always trusted his instincts. They hadn't led him wrong where Vala was concerned, after all, and--

He slammed his fist on the table. "Stop it."

"Daniel, please."

He glared at her feigned hurt. "I won't help you, Osiris."

In the blink of an eye, her expression changed from wounded to seething with rage, the false image of the university lab draining away like water running down a wall. He had only a brief moment to flinch, then there was a searing, blinding pain centered between his eyes, feeling remarkably what he imagined it would be like to have blowtorch aimed at his forehead.

There was a distant roar in his ears, leaving him to wonder how he'd gotten to the ocean. Any attempts at coherent thought were battered back by the constant white noise of crashing waves, the cries of seagulls piercing the air. As he listened more closely, he realized the sounds he was hearing were not the calls of birds, but the screams of someone who sounded terribly near.

It wasn't him, he knew. His throat was closed off, filled with water as the pounding surf battered him over and over again, sapping his energy, leaving him cold and shaking. The waves buffeted his body, sweeping him away from shore and out to sea, away from the siren's cry he so desperately longed to follow. He fought against the relentless currents, finally breaking their pull and struggling back to the surface.

He opened his eyes in confusion, finding himself looking up at the artificially-lit ceiling of his old, familiar cell. A dark shape began to encroach upon his field of vision, and he tried to get his sluggish brain to identify it. Maybe he was water-logged? No, that couldn't be, if only because he didn't feel soaked. Vala, though--and he finally realized the dark shape was actually Vala's hair and shadowed face--seemed to have plenty of moisture on her cheeks.

"Hey," he managed, voice sounding surprisingly weak and slurred.

Vala froze, then crushed him to her. "I was so worried," she sobbed, pressing her face against his shoulder. After a moment, she sat up just a little, cradling his head in her hands. "Are you all right?"

"I think so. What happened?" As he spoke, he began to regain more control of his seemingly-paralyzed muscles, his speech clearing and strengthening.

"Well, when you broke her projector, Osiris attached a recall device to herself. I think she'd modified it somehow so that she could get into your mind. You beat her Daniel. When she realized she couldn't get whatever information she wanted from you, she tried to fry your brains. I yelled at her to stop... she was killing you."

"She could have," he agreed, trying to sit up but not able to get his coordination together well enough to do anything more than twitch. "The funny thing is, the last time she did this to me, I joked around that I was getting used to this. You know what? I think I am."

"Being ribboned? Or getting killed?"

He winced. "Both, but it's not like I'm making an effort to pursue either one."

Vala straightened and swiped her hands over her cheeks to remove the collected tears. "Yes, well, I don't think either of us is going to have much luck in that department. She decided to send for a sarcophagus, just in case she lost control of her temper again."

Daniel finally managed to get his body to obey his commands, though a groan escaped him as he pushed himself to a sitting position. "I've been addicted to a sarcophagus once before Vala... I don't want to go through that again. Have you talked to Sarilis since we've been back?"

She shook her head. "I tried to reach her right after we got in here, tell her what had happened to you, but there was no reply. I hope she's okay."

Using his left hand to steady himself, he cupped her face with the right, thumb making gentle circles at the join of her jaw. "Me too," he agreed. "You know, you were wrong about me one thing: I didn't beat her."

"But she--"

He smiled gently. "She created this dream-like scenario, taking a memory from when Sarah and I first met and changing it in small ways. The only problem was, little things kept sneaking through that didn't fit. The first time I asked her out for coffee, for example, I was translating an old copy of an Egyptian scroll, not a treatise on Semitic deities." He licked his lips. "The goddess Kadesh was mentioned quite frequently."

"Oh," Vala blinked. "Qetesh."

"Exactly. Then there was the fact that every time I said something derogatory about myself, I got this twinge like somebody'd just elbowed me in the ribs."

She grinned. "I told you I'd break you of that."

"Getting there," he agreed. "And last but certainly not least, when she gave me a tablet which became covered in Ancient text when I touched it, I couldn't translate it for her, even though I could read almost everything on it without much trouble. The problem was, my instincts were telling me not to trust her, especially not since we'd only recently 'met'. That's when I remembered that I trusted _you_ almost immediately."

Shifting position so that he had a leg under himself and could turn to face her properly, he took her hands in his own. "I never really lost consciousness when she attacked me, not completely. I was confused and disoriented, but I heard you. I fought because I knew you were there. You've become so much a part of me that I know you even when I don't know myself."

He smiled. "How many steps does it take you to cross the room? Eight, right?"

"How did you--"

"Because that's how many steps it takes me, even though I'm three or four inches taller. Even when you aren't here, I'm shortening my steps so that you won't have to run to keep up with me. You're always here," he continued, freeing one hand to gesture at his head, "and here." He placed their joined hands over his heart.

Tears welled up in Vala's eyes. "You're here, too," she answered, re-capturing his free hand and placing it over her own heart. "You've changed me in so many ways, Daniel, I don't even recognize the woman I used to be. And you know what? I wouldn't want to be her again anyway."

He pulled her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Then allow me to finish what I started. Let me make an honest woman of you."

"Oh, you've already--"

Daniel schooled his face into an expression of earnest sincerity. He would have thought his pulse would be racing, but instead an absolute calm swept over him. It was the feeling he associated with the sense of absolute truth, of something being completely right. "Vala Mal Doran, will you marry me?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Like I said, I have fallen _completely _in love with this story again. Daniel and Vala sometimes surprise me, sometimes do exactly what I want them to, and sometimes do what I want them to AND surprise me, all at the same time. I don't usually consider myself a fan of romance, but this chapter wrote itself from start to finish with hardly any input from me. 

On Monday, we'll check in on the progress of the Tau'ri rescue effort. On Tuesday, we'll be back with Dr. and the future Mrs. Jackson.

Have a lovely weekend!


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Jonas pressed his fingers against the transparent barrier, gazing out at the vista before him. It was awe-inspiring, scientifically intriguing, and also excruciatingly tragic. Thousands of brilliant minds had always speculated something like this could happen, but never before had it been so painfully proven.

Beneath the _Prometheus_, Kelowna was a dust-blackened ball of nuclear fall-out and molten rock.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

He turned his head and flashed Sam Carter a brief smile. "Conflicted," he answered at last. "I haven't lived here for well over a year, but it was still my home. My parents... my aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews... it's all gone."

"I'm sorry, Jonas," she replied, walking over to enfold him in a hug. "You know, you never talked about your family. I guess I always thought you didn't have one."

He pulled away and self-consciously scrubbed his hand through his hair, unsure if she was comforting him or herself. She was always a contradiction of terms, vacillating from the major to the doctor and back again, sometimes stopping on the easy-going "Sam" and even more rarely the feminine "Samantha". A tragedy such as the one floating just outside the window tugged on all four aspects, the scientist and the soldier wanting to know all the details of what had happened while the other sides sought out the teammate who could understand her own conflict best.

Jonas learned early on that being an alien and a fellow scientist made it easier for her to relate to him. The shared "scientist" aspect was an obvious connection, but his status as "outsider" was not all that different from hers as a female soldier: both were considerably different from that which the majority of the SGC's male military population was accustomed. He imagined that the friendship he shared with her wasn't much different from the one she'd enjoyed with Doctor Jackson, and was deeply honored to be able to fill in that niche for her as much as he could--as much as she would let him. He couldn't take offense at her prying, because it wasn't--not really. This was Sam and Samantha, speaking, not Major or Doctor Carter.

"I didn't really," he answered at last. "My father disowned me seven years ago, after I made the decision to go work for the government. He was actually born Terranian, but moved to Kelowna when he and my mother married. She was Andarri."

"Oh. They didn't fit in anywhere, did they?" Carter realized.

"Not really, no," he replied, forcing down the lump that had lodged itself in his throat. "The closest parallel I can draw from Earth is that they were 'hippies'."

"And your working for the government--"

"--Was like throwing everything they believed in back in their faces." He closed his eyes, remembering Marcus Quinn's heated fury, Nalona's cold denial. "You know, the really funny thing is that I tried to send them a message after... after Doctor Jackson disabled the bomb. Tried again just before I stole the naquadria and came to Earth."

Carter smiled sadly. "I did the same thing before we went to stop Apophis' attack on Earth all those years ago. I left voice mail messages for my dad and brother, telling them that I loved them. After I got back, they both wanted to know what was going on, so I had to lie to them. No, not lie... just conceal the truth."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That a friend of mine had been shot and that sometimes it's too late to tell people how you feel about them." She shrugged. "The stupid thing is, I keep doing it over and over again."

"It's human nature, I guess," Jonas answered, turning back to the window. "I left them another message during that mess with Doctor Kieran. I wanted them to know that there were other people who opposed the Kelownan government, only..."

"Only there really was no Resistance," the major finished. "It was all in Doctor Kieran's mind."

He nodded, pulling one of the mess hall's chairs out from beneath a table and slumping on it. "At the very least, I didn't waste that last message. At the end, I told them they'd been right all along, and that I loved them and missed them." He sighed. "I can only hope that when it happened, they knew I cared."

She sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sure they did."

Jonas accepted the comfort for now, because he knew Major Carter--no, _Samantha_--needed it just as much as he did. It wasn't every day that they encountered the aftermath of an entire planet's destruction, let alone one that they'd unsuccessfully tried to prevent from destroying itself.

Especially not when that planet was your own homeworld.

He ground his knuckles into his eyes, refusing to allow himself to vent his emotions. Maybe once they got back to Earth, he could lock himself into his quarters on base and not come out for a week. He wouldn't let himself grieve while aboard the _Prometheus_, though.

Two days ago, SG-1 had been called out of their second meeting with the leader of the Han traders, responding to an urgent request from General Hammond. Kelowna had dialed Earth, a frantic Ambassador Dreylock explaining that they were experiencing extremely powerful earthquakes, and they had reason to believe the unusual seismic activity was caused by underground naquadria deposits. The connection was interrupted, however, and the wormhole would not connect on an attempted re-dial.

Neither the Tok'ra nor the rebel Jaffa had ships available, so Jonas requested the use of the _Prometheus_ to find out what had happened to Kelowna. Since the engine re-fit was complete and most of the other upgrades finished, General Hammond agreed, sending SG-1 along with Earth's flagship to determine the fate of Jonas' homeworld.

Never would any of them have guessed the entire planet had been destroyed.

He cleared his throat. "Were there any other survivors?"

Carter crossed her arms atop the table and shook her head. "Not that we can detect from orbit, anyway. The atmosphere is so thick with iron and other metals that it's difficult for us to scan through it. From what we can tell, the temperature at the surface is around negative fifty degrees Celsius."

"That's cold," Jonas shuddered.

"I'm sorry, Jonas, but nobody would survive for long at those temperatures... not without a lot of protection. We also have no idea how much of the radiation expelled in the initial blast has successfully re-entered the atmosphere, if there was a world-wide disruption in plate tectonics, if..." She stopped herself before she got too carried away and exhaled. "On the plus side, Janet says the six Andarri we rescued from the pod are going to be okay. They're frostbit and a little dehydrated, but very lucky to be alive."

Jonas was impressed. When last he'd been on his homeworld, none of the three feuding nations was reportedly anywhere near having a viable space program, let alone actually having a space pod ready to launch. The Andarri, he guessed, had managed to keep it a very close secret.

"We did it to ourselves," he whispered aloud.

Carter shook her head. "No, there's no way to prove that."

"Major, you and I both know that naquadria doesn't just explode on its own. It's unstable, yes, but any type of nuclear fusion requires a burst of energy to overcome the... the Coulomb barrier. It wasn't a natural disaster."

Now that he was speaking her "language", she could no longer deny his assertions. They might never know what disaster had befallen Kelowna, but in Jonas' opinion, the naquadria explosion that had destroyed half the continent was the direct result of his government's single-minded determination to build weapons of mass destruction and launch them at their perceived enemies. It was exactly what Doctor Jackson had warned them about, and exactly what he had died attempting to prevent.

"I actually came down here to tell you that we received a transmission from the SGC," Carter began, straightening in her seat and looking down at her hands briefly. When she looked back up, she was wearing what he thought of as her "major face".

"This ship _does_ have intercoms, doesn't it?" he grinned, hoping to ease the mood.

It worked, Carter's expression easing into a relaxed smile of her own. "Yes, but I wanted to see how you were doing. Anyway, the leftover radiation from the blast is interfering with communications, so--"

"--So we're going to break orbit to find out what they need."

"Exactly. Colonel O'Neill wanted you to come to the Bridge."

"Lead on," he offered, waving his arm toward the door.

They made their way through the ship in comfortable silence, dodging and weaving through the corridors as well as they navigated the concrete halls of the SGC. Several hallways and a lift later, they walked onto the command deck of the _Prometheus_.

"Are we ready to move out?" asked Colonel Pendergast, the ship's new commander.

"Jonas?" O'Neill prompted.

He swallowed. "I said my goodbyes over a year ago."

His commanding officer gave him an assessing look for a moment, then nodded to the other colonel. Shortly after, sublight engines were engaged, carrying Earth's flagship away from the wreckage of his home world.

It was symbolic, Jonas thought, that he had been one of the few people of his country to outwardly oppose the naquadria project, though his efforts hadn't been made until after he'd been given a startling first-hand look at the devastation naquadria radiation could wreak upon the human body. Now here he was, the only survivor of a planet-wide cataclysm.

No, not only: there were six Andarri in the ship's medical ward. Seven survivors out of a planet of just over two billion.

Once they were underway, SG-1 and the senior officers aboard the _Prometheus _moved to the cramped briefing room just a short distance from the Bridge. The communications systems had been patched into the console at the center of the table. "SGC, this is Colonel O'Neill."

The reply was almost immediate, leading Jonas to wonder what crisis required the _Prometheus_, SG-1, or both. "_Colonel O'Neill, this is General Hammond. Ordinarily, I'd take your report on the Kelownan situation, but I'm afraid I have more bad news. This morning, SG-14 returned early from the summit with the Hans. Doctor Jackson has been captured by Jaffa loyal to Osiris. There's no indication they know who he is, but he's reportedly being held until Osiris herself arrives_."

Jonas looked up catching the brief look of anguish on O'Neill's face before the colonel reflexively clamped down on it. "How long ago, sir?"

"_Approximately two days, but the Hans didn't get a 'Gate address until around sixteen hours ago. As soon as Master Han received the coordinates, he relayed them to SG-14, who then broke camp immediately_."

Unfortunately, Jonas knew that it had then taken SG-14 at least ten hours to hike back to the Stargate, as the second round of negotiations were taking place at a village some fifteen miles away over rocky terrain. Colonel O'Neill had complained about the distance there and back, but the inspection of the trinium mines near the town had been informative and necessary.

"Have we sent a MALP?" Carter asked.

"_I'm sorry, but the 'Gate was heavily guarded_," Hammond replied, sounding genuinely apologetic. "_I can't authorize a rescue mission_."

"What say we stop by the nearest Stargate, drop off our passengers, pick up a few SG teams, and head that way?" O'Neill suggested.

"_Colonel--"_

"Sir, it's Daniel!" the O'Neill and Carter protested in unison.

"We owe it to Daniel Jackson," agreed Teal'c.

Jonas nodded. "There's nothing like spending all day looking at the ruins of a planet he died to save. Whatever we can do, sir."

"_We don't know what kind of forces may be on that planet_," Hammond reminded them.

O'Neill shook his head. "They probably won't expect a rescue effort from space."

"The _Prometheus_ can take an _al'kesh_ in a fair fight," Colonel Pendergast added.

"And the 302s can give any death gliders a hell of a bad day," piped up the fighter wing leader, Major Mitchell.

"_Let's hope it doesn't come to that_," Hammond rebuked gently. "_Very well, Colonels. Sergeant Harriman will transmit the coordinates to the navigation station. Rendezvous with SG teams 3, 5, and 14 at P4T-178_."

"Thank you, sir!" O'Neill exclaimed.

Jonas knew the general wouldn't decline, even if it meant holding his superiors at bay with half-truths and carefully-constructed fabrications. This _was_ Doctor Jackson, after all. "Will the Hans be providing any support, sir?"

"_According to Major Hawthorne, they've already sent three of their best people. When you arrive, you should try to get in touch with them, find out what they know. The only name which any of SG-14 could remember was Han Mai, Kazo's eldest daughter_."

Jonas felt his eyebrows raise. If the Hans had sent one of their blood-relatives, then they were clearly taking Doctor Jackson's capture just as seriously as the SGC was.

"I guess I'll be leaving my patients in the capable hands of Doctor Warner," Doctor Frasier announced. "Knowing Daniel as I do, he'll probably need medical attention."

"_I don't doubt it_," Hammond agreed. "_Good luck everyone_."

Nothing further needed to be said. Jonas met the eyes of everyone in the room, each stubbornly determined look telling him all he needed to know about the intended rescue. They'd get Doctor Jackson back or take a whole lot of Goa'uld and Jaffa out when they died trying.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Yes, I blew up Kelowna, and the collateral damage took out the rest of Langara! Big thanks to Nyx Ro for checking over my characterization of Sam (over whom I still struggle) for me!

Tomorrow, back to our heroes!


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

"_Vala, are you there? Talk to me, girl, tell me you and Daniel are okay._"

Scrunching up her nose, Vala half-heartedly swatted at the noise in her ear, wanting whoever it was to just go away and leave her alone. She was _comfortable_, blast it, and didn't feel like moving anytime soon. Her cheek was resting against a pleasantly firm pillow, and the arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist were better than any blanket.

Arms?

Her eyes flew open, coming to rest on the softly snoring form of Daniel Jackson. He was turned to face her, his left arm flung around her torso and holding her close, while his right lay across her back. Her head had been quite comfortably pillowed on his right shoulder, and he looked surprisingly peaceful for someone who had only recently been tortured.

She felt her lips quirk. _She_ was surprisingly peaceful for someone who had been recently tortured, too. In fact, if given a mirror, she was certain they'd have matching burns on their foreheads, though his was undoubtedly redder than her own.

"_Holy fire, girl, if you don't answer me soon, I'll--_"

"Sarilis?" Fumbling for the transmitter which was thankfully still in place in her right ear, she pressed the tiny button on top. "Sarilis?"

"_Thank the blazes, Vala, I was beginning to get worried!_"

Vala grinned inwardly. Beginning? The former bounty hunter had sounded like Vala's mother used to when she'd be out exploring the woods behind their house after dark. "I was _sleeping_, Mom."

"_Don't get sassy with me, young lady. Mai and I were busy sneaking up on some Jaffa earlier, so I couldn't exactly answer you. What happened to Daniel?_"

"Osiris got annoyed when he proved to be too tough for her to crack. She nearly killed him with her hand device before she realized that _maybe_ she really wanted to keep him alive, instead. Unfortunately, she's sent for a sarcophagus, so _that_ won't be an issue anymore."

Sarilis swore under her breath. "_I suppose he's not capable of moving on his own, is he?_"

"Let me wake him and find out."

Cocking her head to one side, Vala regarded the sleeping man with a proprietary grin. His mouth was slightly open, giving him that dopey look she admitted to herself was simply adorable. All the lines around his eyes and brow were smoothed out, making him look as sweet and innocent as the man she'd met nearly five months ago.

Not that he wasn't _still_ sweet, of course.

Twisting her lips first to one side, then the other, she finally decided on a course of action. What better way to awaken him than with the traditional method of fairytale princes and princesses? Perhaps it was a bit of role-reversal, but she didn't think Daniel would mind.

Bending down, she placed her hand under his cheek and turned his head, then leaned in and captured his mouth with her own. He reacted almost immediately, eyes opening wide with shock, so she backed off a little to give him space to breathe.

Space he apparently didn't want, as he moved with astonishing speed to pull her back down again, eliciting a muffled squeak of surprise from her. When he finally released his hold, he propped his head up on one elbow and smiled. "Hello, gorgeous."

"Hello, yourself. We haven't even exchanged vows and _already _we're imitating one another," she laughed.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," he replied, "or so I'm told."

Vala crossed her arms in mock-indignation. "Are you practicing your wicked charms on me?"

He brightened hopefully. "Is it working?"

"_Vala, is Daniel all right?_"

She jumped. "Oops! Hold that thought, Daniel, Sarilis is calling." She pressed the talk switch. "Yes, he's fine. We're just having a... rather important conversation."

"_I'm sure_," the older woman replied dryly. "_Listen, Mai and I stumbled across one heapin' pile of dung out here, but everything might work out to our advantage in the end. It does require you and Daniel to be able to move and move fast._"

Vala relayed the information to Daniel, then toggled the transmitter again. "We'll do whatever we have to do. What's the plan?"

"_Well, this morning, Osiris apparently got the bright idea to try to execute the guards who initially brought the two of you in --'incompetence' in not recognizing Daniel and letting you go, I guess. She managed to get her hands on half of 'em, and had her Kull warriors open fire._"

"Kull what?"

"_Big, black, and ugly, you can't miss 'em. Unkillable too, near as I can tell. Staff blasts, zats, even some of my favorite toys from years back: nothing's stopping them._"

"What are they doing?" Daniel asked, and Vala obligingly repeated the question.

"_Well, some of the Jaffa--possibly the rebels--apparently took offense to six of their number being slaughtered by the creatures supposedly designed to replace them. Chaos ensued when they found out they couldn't even scratch the warriors' armor. You two must have really put a twist in her undergarments, though, because Osiris decided to order the whole-scale annihilation of every Jaffa on the planet_."

Daniel muttered a few rather impolite things in a language she recognized, plus at least two more snatches in ones she didn't. "How bad is it?"

"_Most of the Jaffa were smart enough to run for cover when the shooting started. Now, either the _al'kesh_ in orbit don't know what's going on or are going for neutral, but they haven't started bombing things yet. Oh, and when they headed for the forest? Mai and I managed to find Daniel's friend Nekor, who mentioned that the rebels deliberately sabotaged the Stargate as they ran past it. Pulled the main crystal from the control pedestal and hid it._"

"So no reinforcements for Osiris," Vala guessed, "except by ship."

"No sarcophagus, either," Daniel added.

"_All of which makes for one severely hot-tempered Goa'uld. Her empire's crumbling around her curly head all because of one tiny little insignificant planet._"

"I guess I should have taken the time to remind her about Ra and Abydos," he smirked.

"_Well, there is one tiny problem. There's no knowing how long the Kull can pursue the fleeing Jaffa, and at this point I'm just going to assume it's indefinite and go from there. Unfortunately, while the Kull might be occupied_--"

"Osiris isn't," Vala finished.

"_You got it. I imagine she'll try to cut her losses and just haul the two of you out of there by ship. That's why the two of you have to be ready. She's probably on her way to you even now, ready to drag the two of you--or at least Daniel--off to her _al'kesh_ and head for deep space._"

She set her jaw. "Over my dead body."

"_And that's exactly what it'll be if the two of you can't find some way to get yourselves out of there. On the positives, she'll likely be alone. Her Kull are stomping through the woods and she can't trust any of the Jaffa._"

"That gives us _something _to work with, anyway," she agreed.

Daniel nodded, all levity gone from his expression. "All we ever need is a fighting chance."

"_Well, Mai and I are trying to help one of the rebel groups set up some decoys and snares that might help slow the Kull down a bit. This planet's mostly a garrison, but there are a few small villages here and there. We're trying to make sure they don't target the villagers, so I might not be able to answer if you call me. Let me know as soon as you're out anyway, will you? I refuse to think otherwise, you know._"

"I understand," Vala replied. "Good luck, Sarilis. Tell Mai good luck, too."

"_The same to you and Daniel._"

She exhaled heavily. "Well, it's up to us at this point."

"We need a plan. A good one, and a fast one."

"Oh, I like quickies."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "You do that on purpose, didn't you?"

Vala crossed her arms. "Well, it _used_ to make you blush. I _miss _that."

"And there's the sulky flirt I know and love," he answered. "But seriously, we _do_ need a plan. Any ideas?"

"Well, you could always lie on the ground and pretend to still be sick and we could get the jump on Osiris when she comes in here to grab us."

"Except she'd probably make _you_ try to haul me off the ground, or just stomp in here, lay a hand on my shoulder and beam us up to her ship."

"Beam?"

"Transport, translocate, whatever you want to call it."

"Oh."

"Besides, that's so old a cliché, even Osiris is bound to have come across that one. Besides, she's a lot stronger than either one of us."

Vala planted her hands on her hips. "Well, since neither of us has a gun or knife or anything, we don't have much in the way of options, now do we?"

He opened his mouth to reply, paused, lifted a finger in the air in a "just a minute" gesture, then rolled over and scrambled to his feet. Bending over the crumpled puddle of fabric that was his discarded coat, he fished around inside one pocket and came up with a flat green crystal.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Back when he caught my team, Aris Boch faked setting the auto-destruct on his _tel'tak_, though we had no way of knowing he hadn't actually armed it. He took the central crystal out of the control so we couldn't stop the countdown, making us think that we were about to be blown to smithereens."

She blinked in surprise. "So this time, _you_ took the crystal so that no one could stop our ship from self-destructing!"

Daniel nodded. "If the Goa'uld found out two Han employees were traveling in an armed cargo ship, it would be _bad_ for the Hans. No ship, no evidence against them. Since it was the rebels who searched me, the only things they took from me were my zat and pistol. I guess they left this since it wasn't actually a weapon."

"But it can be," she agreed, holding her hand out for the crystal. The edges were very smooth, and though there was a sufficiently long point on one end, she didn't think Daniel could stomach actually stabbing anyone any better than she could. Fortunately, the grains of the mineral ran the length of the diamond-shape.

She hurled it at the wall with all her strength, the crystal splintering on impact with a satisfying cracking noise. Squatting beside the remains, she began to sort through the pieces, coming up with three shards of suitable size. The edges were tested on her hair, then two handed to Daniel when they each successfully sliced through the end of a lock. She kept the third for herself.

Daniel looked at the crystal knives with trepidation, clearly not liking the thought of employing the dangerous objects against the body of a woman he cared for, no matter what sort of monster was currently inhabiting her. "Okay. I'm ready."

She cocked her head to one side. "I still think we need to start with my plan." Quickly, she explained her intentions. "It gives us the best shot."

"You're probably better at figuring this kind of thing out than I am," he agreed, "so let's do it."

He sat down on the floor again, tucking one crystal fragment into his belt at the small of his back before lying down and hiding the second in his left palm. It was a little longer than his hand, but by letting it rest along the inside of his wrist, he successfully concealed it between his body and the floor. Vala's own shard went into the top of her right armband, the fabric of the band and the now-filthy silk drape just barely concealing the crude weapon. It would probably scratch her when it was drawn, but there wasn't much choice. It was far more important that they appear to be completely defenseless, with Daniel lying supine while she sat beside him.

They waited with breathless anticipation, wondering how long it would be before Osiris came to retrieve them. Surely, if the Goa'uld had gone through all this trouble to try to keep Daniel alive to find out what he knew, she wouldn't just depart the planet without--

The lock on the cell rattled and the door slammed open. Daniel quickly shut his eyes as Vala looked up to see if their plan even had a chance.

Osiris, thankfully, was alone. She stood in the door with her feet spread at hip-width, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Stand," she commanded.

"Daniel hasn't awakened," Vala replied, biting her lip as though trying to keep from crying. She'd done enough of that after Osiris' enraged attack on the helpless Daniel that she doubted she had to make much effort to make it look convincing. The Goa'uld probably thought she was a twit.

Osiris made a noise of disgust. "Then get him to his feet yourself."

She hesitated deliberately, then lifted Daniel's limp right arm, putting it around her shoulders, leaving his hand dangling less than an inch from the concealed dagger. Her left arm went around his back as she levered him to a sitting position, then dramatically grunted as though she couldn't budge him further.

"I can't," she whined petulantly.

Unimpressed with such incompetence, the Goa'uld stormed over, extending her right hand to grab the front of his shirt and apply her own strength. She never reached her target.

As soon as Vala drew the blade out from the small of his back, Daniel's eyes flew open, fingers grabbing for the shard just out of his reach before abandoning it and just swinging his arm, elbow passing just barely over Vala's ducking head. Osiris' left hand came up to block the sudden attack, but was too slow.

Daniel's forearm collided with the Goa'uld's throat, causing her to fall backward choking. Immediately, he rolled over and pressed his weight against her, pinning her to the ground before she could recover. Vala sprang to her feet and dove for the out-flung left hand, pressing her knee into the trapped arm and pulling on the hand device, using the sharp point of the crystal to keep the creature's wrist from wriggling too much as she quickly began disarming her.

Osiris roared with fury, shouting things that didn't seem to be anatomically feasible, let alone suitable to repeat in polite company. It didn't take long for her enhanced strength to overcome the efforts of a muscular archaeologist, though, even one holding a crystal shard to her throat with his left hand. She likely knew he wouldn't use it, and used his tender-hearted nature to her advantage, heaving him off and scissoring her legs. One flailing foot knocked Vala hard on her rump.

"My patience is at an end!" the Goa'uld howled.

Scrambling to his feet, Daniel tackled her again, attempting to wrestle her into a position where her superior strength would be of no use. Before he could get much of a hold, she got both arms up and threw him at the far wall, a cry escaping his lips as he collided painfully with the masonry.

"I'm pretty sick of you, too," Vala retorted, raising her left hand. Just as Osiris realized that the ribbon device was no longer on her own hand, the former thief unleashed a burst of energy, catapulting the blonde into the stonework immediately behind her.

The former prisoners each had a foot out the door when a weak, decidedly human voice called out, "Daniel?"

He stopped and spun around, eyes widening. "Sarah?"

"Daniel!" Vala hissed, pulling on his arm.

The host closed her eyes. "Go," she whispered hoarsely. "Go now!"

Tugging on his arm, Vala was able to get Daniel out of the way, reach in, and pulled the heavy door firmly shut behind them. He recovered his senses enough to slide the locking bolt into place.

"What a team," she gasped, rubbing at her sore tailbone.

"A real Bonnie and Clyde," he agreed, briefly putting a hand to his lower back. At her confused expression he shook his head. "Never mind. We should probably--"

An inhuman roar sounded from the other side of the door, followed by several thuds muffled by the thick wood.

"--Go," Vala finished. They'd each lost their daggers in the struggle but the ribbon device more than made up for the loss of the weapons. Toggling the transmitter in her right ear, she raced down the corridor, Daniel hot on her heels.

"Sarilis? We're on our way!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
To quote Hammond of Texas, "Yee-HAH!" 

I've also (finally) caught up with email, too! Thanks again to everyone who writes, whether on here or by regular email. I love hearing from folks and sharing little anecdotes that don't make it to the Author's Notes section.

Tomorrow's the Big Six-Oh. Any guesses what I'm going to do? I'll even give you a hint: it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the team.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The deathly silence outside of the stronghold was unnerving. Nothing disturbed the late morning air, not even the calls of birds or bugs. No breeze stirred the long grasses of the valley, nor did clouds mar the pristine lavender-blue hue of the sky.

"Creepy," Vala muttered.

Daniel frowned. "What is?"

"Everything," she replied, waving her arm around for emphasis. He nodded grimly, understanding what she meant. It was simply _unnatural_ for everything to be so still, so silent.

He cleared his throat. "Where are we meeting Sarilis?"

"She said there's a village just a little to the northwest. It's mostly emptied out, now, but there are still a few defenders left behind to watch the livestock. We'll go from there to the ship."

"Why not just meet at the ship?" he asked.

She shrugged, jogging down the ramp at an easy pace. "She didn't give any specifics, but it seemed to be pretty important."

"Okay," he agreed, matching her strides.

They lapsed into silence, concentrating on moving quickly yet keeping their ears and eyes open for possible signs of pursuit. The unnerving quiet all around them made their own footfalls sound all the louder, which only served to heighten their feelings of unease. Finally, as the grassy valley gave way to towering brush, the tension began to lessen a little.

"Small wedding," Daniel announced suddenly. "Just you, me, a few close friends, and a minister."

Vala's eyebrows raised. "But what if I want to rent out a huge temple and invite everyone we know? Between the Hans and Tau'ri, we could probably fill... oh, the Temple at Dakara, at least."

"Dakara?"

"It's in Baal's territories. Qetesh saw it once several hundred years ago. I don't recall many details, but I'm sure it was rather large."

"Overcompensating, maybe?"

Despite herself, she giggled. "Well, there was this mountain-like monument that seemed to make a rather bold statement..."

He joined in her laughter. The escape was making them giddy, she decided, and why not? It wasn't every day you got tossed into a dungeon, ribboned half to death in the pursuit of "questioning", then escaped with nothing more than ingenuity, determination, and luck. Well, in _their_ cases, getting tossed in dungeons and become a distressing habit. Still, their shared experiences were proving that they worked incredibly well together, that their combined skills and intelligence could accomplish things neither could possibly manage alone.

She held no illusions as to where she would be now if she hadn't met him when she did. The crystals she'd stripped from the _tel'tak_ she crashed on Makosis would have kept her fed for a few months, if she stretched it, but she'd soon be haring off after another prize. She might even--and she shuddered to think it--have finally accepted a job or two from the Lucien Alliance.

Daniel, on the other hand, would have been back among his people. His memory would have been restored and his place among the Tau'ri reassumed, but something would still have been missing. The self-confidence he'd begun to gain recently would likely not be there. The easy smiles which now crossed his face would not be so easy, nor so frequent.

They were both far richer for having met one another, she concluded. Although some people affectionately referred to their significant others as such, she and Daniel could probably argue themselves blue in the face over who was the "better half". In truth, they were equals, their individual contributions _bettering _the other half. Taking their relationship that one step further was natural, perfect.

"Small wedding it is," she announced, "but I still want to pick out flowers and a dress."

He turned his head, looking her up and down for a moment before looking back to the trail. "Only if Mai makes the dress."

She looked down, having nearly forgotten what she was wearing. "Lecher."

"Exhibitionist."

The transmitter crackled. "_Is that you two making all that racket?_"

Vala pressed the tip of her finger to the switch. "If you're talking about the two people running down an overgrown trail toward a tiny village, that's us."

Up ahead, a slender figure stepped out from behind one of the low gray buildings, waving an arm in greeting. As Daniel and Vala neared, they recognized Han Mai and returned the wave.

"Thank the gods you're both well!" she exclaimed.

"More or less," Daniel agreed. "Where's Sarilis?"

"Oh, she's--"

"--Running a little late," finished the lazy tones of the former bounty hunter, jogging across the street to join them. "Nekor's boys finished setting up the explosives on that ridge line to the south, so hopefully we can drop the cliff on top of this Kull. I don't know where the other one's off to, but Morlem was leading him on a merry little chase, last I heard."

Mai nodded. "Surely _something_ will work."

"What the hell are these things?" Daniel asked.

Sarilis blew out a gust of air. "Demon creations of Anubis, from what I gather. Nothing seems to stop 'em, nothing slows 'em down long. What happened to Osiris?"

"We locked her in our cell," Vala replied. "She won't be going anywhere soon, though, 'cause I stole her hand device."

The former bounty hunter grinned. "Good. The two of you can use it to ring up to her ship, then."

"We didn't even think about that," the archaeologist groaned. "Vala, try the transporter."

Nodding, she pressed the button she thought activated the beam, but nothing happened. "Maybe it was the wrong button?"

He shook his head. "No, that was the right one. The ship might be out of range, I guess."

"Unless the ship is immediately overhead, doesn't it require a ring platform on this end?" Mai questioned.

"This is technology stolen from the Asgard," Daniel replied. "It doesn't require--"

The ground was suddenly rocked by a loud blast, a plume of dust rising off to the south. Vala guessed it was the explosives her friend had been talking about only moments before, and sincerely hoped whatever plan had been concocted worked.

Sarilis reached into a deep pocket on her coveralls, withdrawing one of the small, silver balls used for communication. "Nekor, how'd it go?"

Seconds later, the head and shoulders of a Jaffa appeared inside the device. "Perfectly, Huntress. The Kull stepped into the trap exactly where you hoped he would, and Ker'ac successfully detonated the devices."

The redhead grinned. "Too bad those were my last charges. All right, now that we got one out of the way, you boys should--"

A look of horror crossed the tiny figure's face. "The debris is shifting!"

Vala felt her jaw drop. "It's still _alive?_"

"Huntress, the rock fall must have carried it out of the way of the majority of the earth!" Nekor cried. "It is resuming its course for the village."

Sarilis muttered something Vala didn't quite catch, but from the wide-eyed look on Daniel's face, it was a language he knew. "Fall back, Nekor, we'll have to divert again." She dropped the ball back into her pocket, exchanging a look with Mai. The younger woman nodded wordlessly, handing Daniel her zat even as Sarilis dug into her seemingly bottomless pockets to give another to Vala.

"What are we going to do?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, 'we' are going to lead the Kull on another little chase southward, so that _you_ can get yourselves to the north, grab the _tel'tak_, and get the hell out of here."

"But you're coming with us," Vala protested.

"We can't simply abandon this Jaffa," Mai declared. "There are women and children who are in need of protection."

"But you can't _stop_ those things, how do you expect to protect anyone from them?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not southward, but west. Away from the 'Gate. With Osiris locked up for the moment, you can repair the DHD--the pedestal--and start evacuating the planet."

Sarilis froze. "Damn, but you're right. Any ideas where to send them?"

"Do you know the address for Chulak? It's practically the headquarters of the Resistance." He hefted the zat, a stubborn set to his jaw. "If not, then I go with you to dial it."

Mai pulled her hand-held computer out of her utility belt. "It is in here, Daniel. Do not worry about us, but take care of yourselves."

"And what do I tell your parents?" he demanded hotly. "That we're sorry we lost their daughter but she told us to leave her behind?"

Sarilis lay a hand on his arm. "We will be fine. The two of you, however, aren injured and look half-dead on your feet. We did not come all this way just for you to get killed escaping! For the love of the gods, get yourself to the damn ship and get out of here." She turned to Vala. "Andron was still in his new home when we left, but the little weasel's probably figured out how to wriggle out of the box."

"In which case he'll have already taken the ship," Vala guessed.

"No, because I replaced two of his propulsion crystals with dummies," the older woman replied, handing her a device she immediately recognized as a homing receiver. "Of course, I couldn't risk them getting broken, so they're hidden in the escape pods. It's up to you what you do with the little rat, though. Since you made him look like a fool to the Hans? He sold you out to the Luciens."

"He did what?" Vala demanded.

"Told the Maz boys where to find you. It took me a while to find out, and even longer to decide not to kill him. It's up to you now, though."

Vala's fists clenched, then relaxed slightly. "Nothing either of us say will convince you two to abandon this fool's pursuit and come with us?"

The women exchanged glances, then shook their heads. "Jaffa are not known for their strategy," Mai answered. "If we leave now, they'll be hopelessly slaughtered. If we stay to help, they might be saved."

An exclamation and weapons' fire sounded not far away, Sarilis turning back to the pair with her face set in grim determination. "Get out of here."

Daniel's jaw worked, but he nodded. "Okay. But I expect to see you both on Katana by the time we get there by ship."

Realizing there was no changing either woman's mind, Vala flung her arms around first Sarilis, then Mai. "And I expect you both to be at our wedding."

Sarilis grinned. "Now _that_ I have to see. That's a promise, girl. Now move it!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Well, crud! The milestone I hoped to achieve today is put off until tomorrow... the story had more it wanted to say than I thought it did. //sighs// 


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

They stopped for water at the stream which separated the brush from the forest, then staggered into the woods. As much as it pained Daniel to admit, Sarilis was completely right about the state of their injuries. The bruises he'd ignored up to this point were clamoring for attention, making his gait unsteady and agonizingly slow. He had bruises on his bruises from where Osiris had slammed him into the wall, and his head was throbbing. Vala probably wasn't in much better shape, having been tossed around as much as he was and having her own close encounter with the hand device.

Unlike the trip to the village, this journey was made in tense silence. Vala outwardly had her attention on the homing device, but Daniel was sure her mind kept wandering to Sarilis and Mai. His was and he hadn't known the older of the two women even half as long as Vala had. Still, from what he understood, Sarilis' skills were legendary. If anyone could find a way through this mess, it was she.

Finally, as the evening hours began to set in, they entered the blast crater created by the detonation of the ship which had first brought them here. There was no sign of the cargo ship, but as it was doubtless cloaked, that was no real surprise. "Okay, how do we find it _now?_"

"Easy," Vala answered, flicking a switch at the bottom of the homing device's display. The air near the edge of the clearing rippled, revealing ship "borrowed" from Andron.

"There it is," he smiled, scarcely daring to believe they were almost free. "Ready?"

"Ready," she agreed. She'd long since removed the uncomfortable hand device and fastened at her hip, expressing a preference for the non-lethal--and infinitely more controllable--zat gun. She nodded to him, and he hit the switch to open the cargo ship's hatch.

Holding their weapons at the ready, they charged, quickly discovering that Andron was not in the cockpit. For a moment, Daniel thought that maybe the merchant hadn't managed to get out of his "box" after all, but then he heard a muffled curse from the direction of the engine room.

Vala shot him a grin, then pressed herself against the wall beside the cargo hold's door. In silent understanding, he flattened himself to the bulkhead on the other side of the door. Within moments, a nervously-shaking hand extended a small beam weapon through the opening, then peered around the edge, finding himself nose-to-nose with a primed zat.

"Hello," Daniel grinned as Vala quickly stepped forward and disarmed the ship's owner.

Andron's eyes went wide, looking first at Daniel, then at Vala. "Miss Mal Doran! Master... uh... What a pleasant surprise!"

"Cut the crap," the former thief warned, tucking the newly-acquired weapon into the top of her boot. "Trying to make a break for it without waiting for Sarilis?"

"She woke me up, dragged me out of bed, and _kidnapped_ me! What do you expect?"

"As I understand it, she asked for your assistance and allowed you to come along when you insisted," she replied, her expression smug.

Andron's jowls quivered. "No! If I'd known she needed to come meet you, I'd have gladly come along, Vala!"

She snorted. "I trust Sarilis with me life. _You_ I trust as far as I can throw you, and let's face it: even a Jaffa would have trouble pitching you any distance. And _you_ don't get to call me by name. That's _Miss_ Vala. Soon to be Missus, right darling?"

Daniel nodded smugly. "Missus Jackson."

"Missus Jackson," Vala repeated, savoring the words. "Darling, would you mind taking care of the propulsion systems while I have a chat with Andron? If Sarilis pulled the ones I think she did, they both go in the console up here."

"You got it," he agreed, saluting her with his zat and stepping into the cargo hold. As Sarilis had promised, the missing crystals were located in two of the escape pods. Returning to the front of the ship, he pulled open the access panel and plugged them into place, taking a logical guess as to which went where. Immediately, the bank of crystals light up, indicating power had been restored to that system.

"Excellent!" she grinned. "Set a course for the stronghold, why don't you? That should be a nice place to drop off our unwanted passenger."

Although "nice" was a relative description, at least it meant Vala didn't have any plans to just abandon the merchant in the middle of nowhere. He might have been a greedy coward, but he was incredibly lucky he was currently being hijacked by the two most morally-conscious space pirates in the galaxy.

Andron spluttered. "But it's my ship!"

"Mine now," Vala answered. "Consider it due payment for having sold me out to the Luciens not once but _twice_."

"I didn't--" he protested immediately.

"Don't _lie_ to me, Andron! We might have clashed over a few sales a time or two, but it's hardly worth sending the likes of Hardis and Arturis Maz after me and my partner. _We're_ lucky we escaped alive, you idiot!"

"They promised not to hurt you," he sulked. "It's not my fault."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "What, you thought they wanted to just sit down and have a chat with us over tea and biscuits?"

The merchant might not have been able to see the eye roll, but there was no mistaking Daniel's tone. "N-no..."

Vala gave an indelicate snort. "Which brings me back to one question: why? You know as well as I do that I was never any real competition in weapons and parts sales."

The ship now hovering over the deserted fortress, Daniel set it to hover and spun around in his seat. "It's because we beat you out on the sale with the Hans, isn't it?"

Andron frowned, crossing his arms. "This nice little setup you have with them should have been _mine_. Then here come the two of you, making me look a total fool in front of them, stealing the crystal sale and--"

"You lost the crystal sale before you even started," Vala answered. "There was a specific type they needed and you didn't have it. More importantly, the only reason why Daniel and I have this 'nice little setup' is because Daniel speaks and reads an ungodly number of languages. You can't even pronounce Zhiangma decently, let alone the two dozen-and-more dialects the Hans needed."

"But Hardis said that--"

"Hardis was an even bigger fool," she snapped. "He paid the price for his mistake, and so will you. Step into the rings, Andron."

He shook his head resolutely, refusing to budge. Deciding the merchant needed a little encouragement--and knowing that they couldn't stay decloaked for long--Daniel rose from the pilot's seat. Grabbing the back of the shorter man's shirt, slowly but surely hauling him into the circle on the floor.

"What about my cargo?" he whined, trying to twist free until he once more found himself intimately close to the business end of a zat, this time Vala's.

"Consider that part of your payment," she replied with a wicked grin, stepping back once the threat had been made clear. Letting go of the fat merchant's collar, Daniel walked over to the ring controls. He almost felt sorry for Andron.

Almost. For Vala to be behaving as she was, she had to be as tired, sore, and frustrated as Daniel was.

"And for the record," Vala finished, giving a go-ahead nod, "we didn't _have_ to make you look like a fool in front of the Hans. You did an excellent job of that on your own."

The noise of the activating rings drowned out the beginnings of the immediate protest, whisking Andron down to the platform inside the stronghold.

"That was embarrassingly easy," Vala muttered, turning around and heading for the cockpit. "We should have tried stealing a ship from him a long time ago."

Daniel shook his head. "He didn't put up a whole lot of fight," he agreed, following. When she claimed the co-pilot's seat, he took the controls and angled the nose of the _tel'tak_ for space. Once they were clear of the atmosphere, he regarded her with a grin. "Besides, what man could resist you in _that_ outfit?"

She giggled girlishly. "Well, _you_ used to, silly. And now here you are, wearing those ass-hugging leather pants of yours..." She peered over the dividing console speculatively, making a little purring noise in her throat. "An _awfully_ long way _you've_ come."

He leaned over the console toward her. "I had a good teacher, Miss Mal Doran."

"Hey!" she objected, pushing against his chest and preventing him from kissing her as he'd planned. "I thought we agreed, Daniel."

"Ah yes," he answered, cupping her face in his hand. "I'd forgotten. I guess I'll soon have to get used to calling you Missus Jackson, won't I?"

"And don't you forget it," she declared, grabbing his head and giving him a soul-searing kiss that made the stars spin around them dizzyingly.

No wait.

They _were_ spinning.

"Death gliders!" Daniel yelped, breaking their embrace. "Does this thing have weapons like the last one?"

"It's Lucien, so of _course_ it does," she replied, pressing buttons to power them. "They might have shot down our last one, but if they want _this_ ship, they've got something else coming."

"Uh... Vala?"

"What?"

"There are three _al'kesh_ up here, too, remember?"

She gulped. "Well, this should prove interesting."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
And there it is! The situation is a bit different, but this entire chapter is essentially the same story as the original "Five Daniels That Weren't" snippet that started it all... sixty-one chapters later...

I know... awful place to leave you for today... but isn't there a big honkin' ship on the way?


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Jack drummed his fingers on the mess hall table nervously, barely resisting the urge to look at his watch again. Outside the window, the brilliant purple-white light of hyperspace streaked past, but the almost stately pace of the swirls was enough to drive him mad. That--along with the complete lack of press-you-into-your-seat inertia--was extremely frustrating when he was in hurry.

Every cell in his body was screaming, "Daniel's in trouble!" That wasn't news in and of itself, as the feelings of looming disaster had chased him every day for almost five months, ever since he'd learned that Daniel was alive, amnesiac, and absent.

He glanced at his watch, noting that the readout had yet to change. The colon between the "22" and the "15" was blinking steadily, assuring him that the watch was functioning as it should. He gave it a little shake, then put it to his ear before remembering that digital watches didn't tick like analogs did. The only possible explanation, then, was that some of Carter's relative stuff was to blame, messing up the passage of time so that it seemed to stretch on forever.

Ha! The minutes had finally gone up a number, displaying the number "16" with the same disregard for the colonel's impatience. The _Prometheus'_ navigator had approximated 2300 as the arrival time to the planet which was Daniel's last-known location. He wasn't sure if he could stand to wait forty-four more minutes and wasn't at _all_ certain how he'd survived the ten hours since first hearing about his friend's capture.

A large hand clamped over his arm, covering the face of the watch as he went to look again. "It is still forty-five minutes until we are expected to arrive," Teal'c told him, his jaw working in that "you are trying my patience" sort of way of his.

If Jack was a master of anything, it was trying patience. "Forty-four."

"O'Neill."

"Sir, you can't make the time go by faster just by staring at your watch every few seconds," Carter reminded him.

"I can try," he grumbled, not wanting to admit defeat in the face of her unfailing logic.

Jonas had nothing to add, only waving his spoon and returning to his butterscotch pudding.

Jack scowled and resumed the rhythmic tapping of his fingers. Inwardly, however, he was trying to figure out what he was going to do about Jonas after this crisis had been handled. The kid's entire _planet_ had just kissed its own ass goodbye, and the only other survivors of the disaster were worse than pond-scum.

When they reached the rendezvous point and began ringing up the reinforcements, Fraiser and her emergency team had prepped the six rescued Andarri for travel. Jack had practically dragged Jonas in to see the three men and three women off, wanting to let them know that at least one other person from their planet had survived.

They were polite and welcoming after hearing his apparently Andarri name, but when they learned he was actually born Kelownan, Jonas was given the cold shoulder. There were times when Jack couldn't believe that the younger man was from the same region of space, let alone the same planet as these rude and extremely petty people. What did it matter of Jonas was from a rival country? He was the only other survivor of an _entire planet_.

One thing was for sure: Jack wasn't going to mourn this particular planet's loss. Sure, a disaster which claimed the lives of two billion people was horrific, but based on his previous encounters, the explosion could very well have been caused by the chronically paranoid Kelownans and their penchant for building weapons of mass destruction. One of those weapons had been responsible for killing Daniel, and though Jonas had been granted a pardon for his part in the events which followed the laboratory accident, Daniel had just ended up dead.

Well, dead then ascended. Somehow, he'd also ended up _de_scended, too, which was why they were now charging through space on a daring rescue mission. A quick glance at his watch showed that maybe there _was_ some truth in the team's insistence he not keep looking at the time, as three whole minutes had passed while he was ruminating.

The ship's intercom crackled. "_SG-1, report to the Command Deck_."

Jack jumped up from his chair, nearly knocking it over with the force of his enthusiasm. Maybe the 2300 arrival time had been over-estimated by forty-one minutes, and they were about to drop out of hyperspace! The rest of the team caught up to him at the lift, since he either had to wait for the next car or make a mad dash up the nearest ladder. Since he wasn't sure his knees would be happy with climbing several decks, the lift it was.

Finally, they emerged on the Bridge of the _Prometheus_, Jack practically bouncing with every step. "Are we there yet?"

Pendergast looked up at the team. "Not yet, Colonel. We've picked up a distress signal approximately fifteen light-years off-course."

"And?" he prompted.

The communications tech punched a switch, filling the air with a rich alto. "_Requesting assist... damaged... attacked by... _al'kesh_... shields failing..._"

"She doesn't sound like a Goa'uld," Jonas observed as the garbled message began to repeat.

"Osiris' host, Sarah Gardner, is English," Carter recalled, clearly noting the woman's accent. "What if Daniel was somehow able to free her?"

"What if he didn't and it's a trap?" Jack replied.

Teal'c clasped his hands behind his back. "That is unlikely, O'Neill. No one knows we are attempting a rescue from space."

"There's also the chance she might be a part of the Hans' rescue team," the Kelownan continued. "Her accent isn't like that of Han Kazo, but she might be one of the other two people they sent."

"So we're needed to rescue the rescuers?"

Pendergast shifted in his seat. "Shall we divert course?"

"It's only about five minutes out of our way," Carter added.

Jack groaned inwardly, knowing the decision was his as the ranking officer. Pendergast may have been the ship's captain, but the rescue mission itself was under his command. Whether they kept to their course and ignored the distress signal or made the slight detour was entirely up to him.

"Five minutes, then," he declared. "Let's go see what the problem is."

Pendergast nodded to the navigator, who changed the ship's heading accordingly. The minutes dragged by interminably, but at long last they re-emerged into real space. Sensors immediately detected the source of the signal and the viewscreen zoomed in for a closer look.

A badly damaged _tel'tak_ drifted in space just below the darkened form of an _al'kesh_. Both vessels seemed to have taken weapons fire, though the larger ship didn't appear to have enough scoring to account for its seemingly-lifeless state. The distress call, the communications tech announced, had come from the cargo ship.

"No life signs on either vessel, but I am picking up some interference," Carter reported, taking over an unmanned sensor console. "According to these readings, neither ship seems to have been disabled by external causes."

"They blew themselves up?" Jack asked.

"Well, the cargo ship--near as I can tell--has a lot of hull damage but no breaches. The _al'kesh_ is in far better shape, but seems to have no power."

Jonas peered over her shoulder. "That's very strange."

The major looked up with what he thought of as a "mad scientist's gleam" in her eyes. "We should try to salvage them, sir."

He shook his head. "_After_ we rescue Daniel."

She bit her lip. "Well, I could take a team over there to see what we can do while the _Prometheus _continues on to the planet."

He sighed. "Carter..."

"We should determine if there are, indeed, any survivors who may need medical attention," Teal'c added.

"The sensors aren't getting clear readings on the _al'kesh_," Jonas agreed, "but it does seem to still have minimal life support. There could be people trapped on board."

Jack threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine! Get Reynolds and SG-3 to ring over there and check it out. If there's no danger, I might--_might_--consider letting you try to fix it."

The scientists shared a conspiratorial grin, leaving the colonel to wonder how in the world brilliant people like Carter and Jonas could have such skewed priorities. Here they were, fresh from a rescue mission to Kelowna, headed on a rescue mission to who-knew-where, but stopping on the way to rescue persons unknown on ships which may or may not actually have anyone alive on board! The worst part was, he knew that if Daniel were to find out he'd passed up trying to help someone in need, he'd chew his ear off in a heartbeat.

"Prometheus,_ this is SG-3 niner. It's dark over here, but seems to be holding heat in pretty well. We're beginning our sweep now_." The seconds stretched into minutes, then finally Reynolds reported in again. "_We're in the engine room, and it looks like we've found the reason why the ship isn't going anywhere: one of the panels has been pulled out and all the crystals shot to hell. _

"_We also have two dead Jaffa in here, both armed with staff weapons. It looks like they might have been killed by other staff blasts, only..._"

"Only what?" Jack demanded.

"_Well, the burns look to small and neat, sir. Direct hits like these guys took are usually irregularly shaped and as much as five inches across. These are only about two or three, round, and deep._"

Teal'c stiffened. "I have seen such wounds before, Colonel Reynolds. They are caused by Anubis' drone warriors. If one is still aboard, you and your men are in grave danger."

Jack put his fists to his forehead in frustration. "Abort. We don't have anything that can kill Fall back to the rings and get back aboard the _Prometheus_."

"_On our way, sir!_"

Pendergast looked like he was missing something important, so Carter obligingly filled in the blanks. "Anubis' drone soldiers are right at seven feet tall and covered head to toe in impenetrable black armor. Teal'c and Bra'tac encountered one at a failed Jaffa summit and were completely unable to stop it with their staff weapons or zats. The only reason why it stopped was because they're genetically engineered Super Soldiers with a limited lifespan."

"We encountered another one a few days after," Jonas chimed in, "and couldn't stop it with a trinium dart, a force field, or even claymores."

"Prometheus,_ the rings on this side aren't working._"

"Hold on, Colonel, we'll ring you back from this side," Carter responded. Pendergast nodded, instructing one of his crew to do the honors.

"Everybody back on board?" Jack asked, anxious to get as far away from the derelicts as possible. "Reynolds?"

Pendergast frowned. "Captain, bring up the security cameras in the ring room."

Captain Marks complied, then swallowed nervously. "Sir?"

On-screen, a "Super Soldier" paused, looked up, then raised a zat and shot the camera. The picture dissolved into static.

"Oh, shit," Jack muttered. "Okay, we need options, people."

"We can't zat it, we can't shoot it with a staff weapon, and bullets just bounce off," Jonas summarized. "What about voiding the atmosphere on the deck?"

"And risk killing anyone stuck on level four?" he retorted.

Carter looked up from her console. "Actually, Jonas has a pretty good idea. Maybe we can lure the drone into an external compartment, seal it off, then vent it into space."

"And how do you propose we 'lure' it?"

She bit her lip, but Teal'c understood the meaning clearly. "I will go."

Jack waved his hand. "Hold up there, Big Guy, you're not doing this alone. Pendergast, evacuate decks three through five and seal them off. Teal'c and I are going to go lead Ugly on a wild goose chase."

"I'll go too, sir," Carter offered. "You'll need my help sealing off the compartment and flushing it into space."

"I'll come, too,"Jonas chimed in, making it a full SG-1 endeavor. "I can help Major Carter."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Carter, you and Teal'c start on level five and work your way up. Jonas and I will start at level three and go down."

Carter turned to a nearby panel and pulled up a schematic of the ship. "There's a food storage bay on level five that has an airlock. I can rig the hatch to blow if we can lead it in one door and escape out the other. Seal them both off and detonate the charge."

"Good thing I wore my running shoes today," he quipped humorlessly. Neither Teal'c nor Jonas pointed out that he was, in fact, wearing the same style of boots he always did, so they got the message: drawing the Super Soldier's attention was _his_ job.

Pendergast suggested bringing SG-5 and 14 along to seal off rooms as they went, pulling victims of the drone's attack to safety and reducing the available areas to which the creature could travel. Jack agreed, ordering SG-5 to meet him at the forward lift shafts on level six, and they'd progress from there. SG-14 would then meet Carter and Teal'c on level two.

As they kitted up in the armory just outside the Bridge, Jack cursed himself for giving in to the humanitarian appeal from his teammates. His instincts had warned him it was a trap, and now they were boarded and under attack by a creature that had proven completely immune to any and all weapons the Tok'ra, Tau'ri, or Jaffa Rebels had in their arsenal. Stopping to think about what Daniel would have wanted him to do had warred with his own responsibility to the younger man's safety, and if he couldn't somehow manage to rid the _Prometheus_ of its unwanted guest, they might never get the chance to try to rescue him.

Jonas looked stubbornly determined, inspecting and loading his P90 like a pro. As many times as Jack had made him strip and reassemble the weapon in his early days with the team, he was probably as quick as the colonel himself was. He'd absorbed the necessary skills to hold his own on the team as lightning-fast as everything else at which he'd tried his hand.

"Ready?" he asked gruffly.

"No," the younger man admitted, "but it's not like we have much choice, is it?"

Reaching up with his free hand, he clasped Jonas' shoulder. "You'll do fine."

Entering the lift, they dropped Carter and Teal'c off at level two, then continued downward to level six. SG-5 was waiting for in the corridor just outside, looking nervous but resolved. Jack radioed the Bridge to cut power to the lift, then headed for the nearest ladder.

They'd retrieved two unconscious crew members and sealed off six rooms when Carter's voice came over the radio. "_Sir, we're still on level three and just spotted the drone coming out of the corridor ahead of us. Teal'c and I are going to try to get around it, then draw it toward the storage bay._"

Jack toggled his radio. "Roger. Jonas and I are on our way. Do not engage until we are on the same deck, understood?"

"_Yes, sir_," she replied, and though he knew neither of his teammates liked the order, they'd comply.

"Harper, finish securing this deck." Not waiting until the SG-5 team leader acknowledged the command, he motioned to Jonas and headed for the next access hatch down the corridor, rather than back-tracking to the one from which he'd previously emerged. If he could, he'd rather emerge on the other side of the Super Soldier from Carter and Teal'c, making it easier to draw the drone to the intended target zone.

A tell-tale whine was his only warning. He instinctively ducked and rolled, trying to put distance between himself and the unmistakable sound of a priming zat. Jonas, unfortunately, was not so lucky, crying out as the blue energy engulfed him. He fell to the floor unconscious, and as much as Jack wanted to drag him out of harm's way, the heavy footfalls of the approaching drone dictated his next action. He fled.

Racing down the corridor, he toggled his radio. "Damn it, Carter, there are two of 'em!"

"_Sir?_"

"Jonas just got zatted and I'm being chased! I repeat, there are _two_ drones aboard!" He glanced over his shoulder and swore under his breath, as the distinctive black-armored figure stomped into sight. It seemed to be in no hurry to catch him, but catch him it would if he didn't come up with a plan PDQ. He slid around a corner just as blue lightning flashed past him, the hair on the back of his neck standing up at the close shave.

Unfortunately, he'd ducked into a dead end, the door at the end of the corridor stubbornly refusing to open. The heavy footsteps of the Super Soldier plodded ever nearer, and Jack gripped the P90 more tightly. Firing the weapon might be a futile effort, but at least he could tell himself he wouldn't go down without a fight. The footsteps slowed, then the drone appeared around the corner, leading with its zat.

Why a _zat_? he wondered. These guys carried far more deadly weapons mounted on their forearms, so why were they taking such an effort to only _zat_ people? And on that note, why was it only about six-and-a-half feet tall instead of the usual seven?

"You're a little short for a Stormtrooper," Jack remarked, all thoughts of going down with guns blazing flown out the proverbial window.

He could have guessed for a hundred years and still not predicted the drone's response. "So? You don't look much like Princess Leia, either."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Oh, I have been waiting for this chapter since I _started_ this story, and I know, all of you have, too!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! Happy Cinco de Mayo and Oaks Day/Derby Day!


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

"Daniel?"

He blinked in surprised recognition. How in the world had this particular voice's owner come to be aboard a ship in the middle of nowhere?

"Jack?"

"Daniel?"

Having forgotten how the mask distorted and deepened his voice, he fumbled with the Kull helmet. The flush of cool air felt great against his skin and the return of natural color to his vision was welcome. The best, most wonderful sight of all was the dropped jaw and stunned incredulity of one silver-haired Colonel O'Neill.

"Jack?"

The older man's mouth worked silently for a moment, forming words but never quite verbalizing them. Finally, he just let his P90 bang against the front of his tactical vest, staggered forward, then wrapped his arms around Daniel in a crushing bear hug. Unable to do anything else, Daniel brought his arms up and circled the other man, hanging on for dear life.

They clutched each other for the longest time, chins buried in the crooks of each other's necks. Neither tried to speak, Daniel finding it difficult to even force air in past the lump that had formed in his throat. He didn't think words were really necessary anyway, as the firm grip around him was all he really needed to know.

"Jesus," Jack muttered in a strained voice.

"No, just Daniel," he replied with a grin.

The colonel gave a choking laugh, reaching up to ruffle his hair affectionately. Daniel half expected him to call him "Spacemonkey" again, like he had all those years ago. He pulled back at last, hands going to the younger man's shoulders and giving him a thorough once-over. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Danny."

"I missed you too, Jack."

"Why the hell didn't you come home? When you got your memory back, why didn't _you _come back, too?"

He sighed and scrubbed a gloved hand over the back of his neck. "It's... complicated."

"Isn't it always?"

"Pretty much," he agreed. "First off, it was quite a while before I remembered enough to _do _anything about it. By then... well, my priorities had changed a little."

"A little?"

He started to smile, but then froze in sudden shock. "Aw, crap."

"What?"

"Does this ship have some sort of PA system?"

"Yeah. Why?"

He took a breath. "'Cause I need to stop my partner from shooting up the rest of the ship."

"Crap," Jack agreed. He grabbed the radio mounted to his vest. "Carter, Teal'c, do _not _go after the Super Soldier."

"_Sir?_"

Daniel grinned at the confusion in Sam's voice. "Can you put me on the intercom?"

"Stay put, Carter, we're heading your direction." He dropped his hand from the radio and pushed past Daniel, jogging back to the main corridor. Daniel bent to pick up his dropped helmet then followed. At the juncture of the two halls was a panel with several buttons and switches on it; Jack pressed a few controls, then motioned for him to go ahead.

"Vala, this is Daniel. This is a Tau'ri ship, so stop shooting people, okay? I'm heading your way."

"_Sir, is that_ our _Daniel?_"

Jack grinned, turning off the PA and reaching for his vest again. Feeling impish, Daniel raised his arm and waggled his fingers. The colonel obligingly unsnapped the pocket and deposited the radio in his hand.

"Hi, Sam! Hi, Teal'c!"

"_Daniel!_" the other two team members exclaimed in unison. The Jaffa even forgot to add on his surname.

"Long time no see, guys! Jack and I are coming to you, all right?"

"_We look forward to it greatly, Daniel Jackson_," Teal'c replied, somewhat recovered.

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he handed the radio back to Jack. "Where's Jonas?"

Jack rolled his eyes and pointed down the hall. "You zatted him when you came after me."

"Whoops," he winced, following the older man toward the fallen form of SG-1's fourth.

Crouching beside the Kelownan, they turned him over onto his back, then Jack began patting his cheek. "Wakey, wakey, Jonas! The big, bad, scary Super Soldier's not half so big, bad, or scary any more."

"I almost feel insulted," Daniel joked.

"What, that I don't find you big, bad, or scary? Daniel, the day I'm scared of you is the day I... I eat my hat!"

He chuckled. "Learn to love the taste of cotton twill, Jack. You sure did a remarkable job of running scared when I was chasing you down the hall!"

"I wasn't running scared, I was making a strategic withdrawal."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Sure, Jack. Keep on believing whatever you want to believe."

He started to squawk in protest, but Jonas chose that moment to begin stirring. "Colonel?"

"Welcome back, Jonas!"

The younger man blinked. "Ow. Did you get the Super Soldier, sir?"

"Nope, I'm afraid it got me."

"The other way around," Daniel corrected. "You're the one who initiated the hug."

"Colonels do not initiate hugs."

"Says the man who made 'Spacemonkey' the SGC's favorite new word for _months._" Jack's teeth clicked shut.

"'Spacemonkey?'" Jonas muttered, scrubbing at his eyes. "Isn't that the nickname you gave..." He trailed off, blinking. "Doctor Jackson!"

Daniel waved a hand at the Kelownan. "Hey, Jonas. Sorry about zatting you; the helmet on Kull armor doesn't let me see details, only thermal signatures."

"Oh. Well, that's okay, then," Jonas agreed amicably, shaking his head to try to rid himself of his persisting confusion.

"How'd you _get _that armor, anyway?" Jack asked.

He shook his head. "Long story. Let's go meet up with Sam and Teal'c so I won't have to repeat it."

"And your partner," the colonel added. "Looks like we _finally _get to meet him, eh?"

Daniel snorted to himself, realizing that the Hans must never have told SG-1 that he was working with a female. Boy, were they in for a few surprises!

There was a telltale crackle as Jack changed channels on his radio. "Pendergast, this is Colonel O'Neill. The Super Soldiers are friendlies. Unlock access to the lifts so that everyone can get back to their duty stations."

"_They're friendlies?_" Incredulity dripped from the unseen man's voice.

"We were being hijacked by the very people we were headed to rescue. Daniel Jackson's with me now, and he, Jonas, and I are heading down two decks to meet up with Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel's partner."

There was a long stretch of silence. "_That's unbelievable, sir!_"

"That's SG-1, Lionel," he grinned. He and Daniel then helped Jonas get to his feet, the younger man swaying dangerously before regaining his balance.

Jack changed channels again as they headed down the hall, alerting SG-5 to their approach. When the team cautiously appeared around the corner, Daniel was dismayed to see that he recognized none of them. It had been nearly two years since he was last at the SGC--so it was hardly a surprise--but it was still somewhat of a disappointment.

Grinning from ear to ear and radiating near-paternal pride, Jack made the introductions, reveling in the looks of wide-eyed surprise on the other team's faces. While Daniel may not have known any of these four men, they clearly knew who _he _was.

They stepped into the lift. "What kind of stories have you been telling about me, Jack?"

"What makes you think I've been telling stories?" the colonel asked, all innocence.

"Maybe the look of complete 'gee-golly-wow' on their faces?"

"Is that a technical term?"

"I'm a linguist. I thought I'd give your language a shot."

"You missed, Danny, try again."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jonas' head swiveling back and forth as rapidly as the conversation, trying desperately to keep up with them. Daniel decided to take pity on the poor man, as he'd clearly never experienced one of their trademark banter sessions.

Well, trademark _before_ their friendship went south. As soon as he had a free moment with the older man, Daniel intended to address that particular mystery. Even with all his memories restored--except for the gaping hole that was most of his time he spent Ascended--he was still unable to pinpoint the exact time or reason for their dissolving relationship.

As the lift slowed to a halt, he smiled. "Ever see a tennis match, Jonas?"

Any attempt at a reply was forestalled by the sudden appearance of Major Samantha Carter and her ear-to-ear grin. No sooner had Daniel stepped into the hall than the normally-reserved astrophysicist had flung her arms around his shoulders and squeezed every bit as tightly as Jack had. When she finally stepped back to let him breathe, Teal'c stepped in and offered his extended forearm. Daniel innocently took the bait, and was reeled into an even more rib-cracking embrace than either of the other teammates had given him.

If they had no other weapons against the Kull, maybe they could consider letting Teal'c _hug_ them to death.

"Easy there, Big Guy," Jack warned, his face alight with humor. "All right, Danny, let's go round up your buddy."

"'Buddy'?" Teal'c repeated, finally relinquishing his grasp and allowing Daniel to take in some much-needed oxygen.

"The other Super Soldier's his partner."

"He's down this way," Sam replied, jerking her head.

Daniel nodded, then turned to the quiet Kelownan. "You okay, Jonas? You look a little peaked."

"I'm having a bit of a rough day," Jonas smiled wanly. Daniel felt his eyebrows raise, and the man quickly added, "But it's turning out to be a lot better than it started." He shook his head. "It's a long story."

"I'll bet." Daniel made a mental note to get to know Jonas better, especially as he was sure to have some interesting observations and stories to tell from his last year or so with the SGC, most particularly those pertaining to the rest of SG-1.

As he walked through the corridors with his friends, he realized that there didn't seem to be any question that he would continue to interact with SG-1 on a daily or near-daily basis for the rest of the foreseeable future. Ever since he'd recovered his memories and he and Vala had their own heart-to-heart, she'd tried to push him to go beyond extending the proverbial olive branch and meet with his former team. Some part of him always felt that he wouldn't be as welcome as she hoped, but nothing he'd experienced so far was even remotely close to his fears.

She was never going to let him forget that she'd been right.

"Last we saw him, he was just heading around this corner," Sam announced quietly as they reached yet another twist in the convoluted hallways of the ship.

Daniel nodded. "Vala, it's Daniel! Come on out and meet my friends!"

The surprisingly deep rumble of her modulated voice heralded Vala's emergence from the room immediately around the bend. "Oh, the infamous SG-1?"

"Infamous," Jack repeated. "That's us."

He took a deep breath as Vala reached up to remove her helmet. "Vala, I'd like you to meet Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Jonas Quinn, and Teal'c."

Indulging herself in her flair for dramatic displays, the former thief swept off the helmet. Like a model for a hair products commercial, she shook her hair to free it from its confines, letting the raven locks spill over her shoulders. "Charmed," she replied, flashing her teeth winningly.

The expressions of stunned disbelief on three-quarters of SG-1 were simply priceless. Teal'c had his head cocked to one side in contemplation, while Sam's jutted forward at the neck, blue eyes widened to the point they seemed to comprise the majority of her face. Jonas' jaw had dropped, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Jack was grinning like a loon.

"They didn't know I was girl, did they?" Vala asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Nope," he agreed, putting his arm comfortably around her shoulder. She obligingly wrapped her own arm around his ribcage. "Guys, this is my partner, Vala Mal Doran." He waited a beat. "Soon to be Vala Jackson."

He then had the rare privilege of getting to see Jack O'Neill rendered speechless twice within fifteen minutes. The colonel recovered more quickly this time than he had the last, though. He gave Vala an assessing look before drawling, "Daniel, you _dog_."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
A few minutes early, but you don't mind do you? Also, just to let you folks know, this story will be wrapping up soon (I hope)... but that's just THIS story. I fully plan to do further stuff with this particular AU, but I've been writing every week night for three months straight! My plot bunny farm looks like a Tribble Petting Zoo...


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Vala kept up the cheek-stretching grin despite her slight apprehension at finally meeting the people Daniel had long considered to be his family. Even when he was bemoaning the perceived failure of his friendships with the members of SG-1, there was still an underlying sense of attachment that convinced her the feelings were still there.

In essence, she was meeting her future in-laws. Was it any _wonder_ she felt nervous?

The reality of the team she'd heard so much about was not much different from the legend. They'd lost some of their larger-than-life stature by staring at her with complete open-mouthed bewilderment, but even having known who Daniel was for as long as she had didn't quite prepare her for what it was like to be in the presence of the most formidable enemy the System Lords had ever faced.

"Not what you expected, are they?" Daniel whispered.

"Not hardly," she agreed, then addressed his team. "It's nice to finally meet all of you, though. Daniel's told me _so _much about you."

"None of it's true, I swear," Jack O'Neill replied immediately, looking to his younger friend. "I guess I'm not the only one telling stories, eh?"

"What makes you think I've been telling stories?"

The colonel rolled his eyes. "Smart ass. Okay, kids... this is fun and all, but we've a ship to put back in order, then I have a _lot _of questions for the two of you." He flicked a finger at Vala. "Mostly you. Him, I probably can't get to give me an honest answer."

Vala felt her lips quirk. "Well, I _am _known for honesty." Daniel snorted, so she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well, we can't wait to hear what you two have been up to," Samantha Carter smiled. "The colonel's right, though, we should probably take this to the briefing room while the crew gets the ship back in order." She frowned. "Uh, or should we go to the infirmary first?"

Vala's fingers automatically crept up to her forehead. "I'm fine for now."

"Me too," Daniel agreed.

Jack sighed. "Ribboned again?"

"It wasn't _my_ idea," her partner replied. "But no, we're fine for now. A bit bruised and tired, but nothing that a good night's sleep won't help. I won't object to a shower, a change of clothes, and a hot meal, though."

"Consider them yours," Jack promised. "Carter, you want to take care of Miss Mal Doran?"

"Vala, please," she corrected.

Sam nodded. "Vala. If you'll come with me?"

Daniel leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you in a little while."

"Don't hog all the food," she grinned, returning with a kiss of her own. Dropping her zat into her helmet and tucking the bulky object under her arm, she obligingly followed the blond-haired woman back down the corridor. Moments later, they stepped into the lift and the door slid shut.

"So..." Sam began. "You and Daniel."

"Me and Daniel," she smiled.

"How'd you meet?"

"On Makosis. I crashed my ship there but didn't speak a word of the language. Thankfully, 'Theadan' was able to translate for me."

The lift opened and they stepped out onto another of the utilitarian hallways. "Wow, you've been together all this time?"

Vala smiled and nodded at the crew members who passed her by with curious expressions. "Not _together _together, no. That wasn't until about a month ago."

"Oh." Her lips twisted as though she wanted to say something else, but wasn't quite sure how to word it.

Suspecting she knew the awkward question Sam wanted to ask, Vala reached out to touch the other woman's arm, causing her to stop and turn to look at her. "I love him very much," she offered, meeting the taller woman's eyes.

Sam relaxed visibly. "That's great to hear. I mean, I know Daniel isn't the best at expressing the way he feels sometimes, but he... he seems very comfortable with you."

Vala nodded. "It's not been an easy road getting there, I promise. A lot of that's my own fault, since I practically threw myself at him every chance I got!"

The major's eyebrows rose. "You did?"

"Well, I did at first, anyway. He's a very attractive man and I _am _female."

Sam grinned. "You'd have to be dead to _not _notice! Uh, well, dead or Daniel, that is."

"And since he has so much experience with being dead, maybe that's part of _his_ problem." She shook her head. "I've been working on that, though. First thing I did was buy him a pair of really, _really_ nice pants."

"Leather?"

"Of course!" She laughed. So far, Sam was just as she'd always imagined her: a touch of big-sister-protective, a dollop of red-blooded female, and a whole lot of fun-loving, intelligent woman. It was no wonder Daniel had enjoyed being around her so much.

"I'm sure he _loved_ that," Sam continued, stopping in front of a plain-looking door.

"It took a while for the blush to fade, that's for certain." Vala pursed her lips. "About three months."

Sam grinned and activated the control panel for the door. "So, when did--"

She peered around the door frame at what looked to be a communal bath chamber of sorts. "Yesterday, I think. Time's a little messed up since we've been bouncing from one thing to another, but he asked me to marry him last night."

"He asked _you?_" Sam flushed. "Okay, that didn't come out right."

Vala laughed. "No, it didn't, did it? But yes, he asked me. I wasn't given to him as a gift or anything of the sort."

"Oh, so you know about Sha're. That's good." She cleared her throat and stepped into the room, turning to a shelf behind the door and pulling down a towel and a smaller piece of cloth. Crossing to one of the metal cabinets along the wall, she extracted three small bottles. "Shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner."

The former thief made a face. "Sorry Sam, but I have _no_ idea what you're talking about."

The major's lips formed an 'oh' of surprise. "I didn't even think of that!" Quickly, she explained the use of each bottle. "I'll get you a change of clothes while you shower. You can just leave the armor outside the stall and I'll take care of it."

Nodding, Vala handed the helmet over in exchange for the bathing supplies. "Thank you, Sam. I know you don't know me very well yet, but I hope you and I can become friends."

"Vala, I can tell that Daniel cares a lot for you, that he loves you. If for no other reason than _that_, we'd be friends." She grinned wickedly. "But since the feelings are mutual? That puts you in an entire _sisterhood_ of Women Who Love Daniel!"

Fifteen minutes later, Vala felt like a brand new woman. Her bruises and scrapes were still clamoring for attention, but she could ignore them now that her muscles had been soothed by the hot water, and the refreshing fragrance of the assorted bottles of cleaners had washed away days of sweat and grime. Undergarments, socks, and a pair of boots awaited her on the bench just outside the stall, along with a blue jumpsuit similar in style to the ones Sarilis favored.

She felt a sudden pang of worry. In all the excitement over kicking Andron off his own _tel'tak_, attempting to elude the pursuing gliders, and ringing aboard first an _al'kesh_, then _this _ship, she'd nearly forgotten about the two friends she and Daniel had been forced to leave on Osiris' planet.

"All better?" Sam asked, peeking around the corner as Vala laced up the boots.

"Much," she agreed. "Sam, two of, uh, our 'sisters' were left behind when Daniel and I made our escape."

The blonde frowned. "Sisters? Oh, gotcha. What happened?"

She bit her lip. "Well, Sarilis and Mai made it possible for Daniel and I to get away. We have to go back and rescue them."

"We'll talk to the colonel about it," Sam promised. "We're meeting in the mess hall, since it's less crowded than the briefing room would be, plus you and Daniel can eat while you fill us in."

"Great," Vala nodded. "I'm _starving._"

Now that she mentioned it, she _was_. Her stomach growled to remind her that it had been... at least two days since she'd last eaten anything. She'd been too nervous to eat while on the way to rescue Daniel, and Osiris hadn't seen fit to feed either of them while they'd been her 'guests'.

She received fewer curious glances this time through the halls, and she assumed that was because she was now dressed like the rest of the crew. Finally, she and her escort arrived at a room full of tables and chairs, an assortment of foods spread out before her. Although there were other people present--including Jonas Quinn and Teal'c--there was as yet no sign of Daniel. Sam motioned for her to go ahead and fill a plate, then began introductions.

"This is Vala Mal Doran, one of the two people who came aboard disguised as Super Soldiers," she began, deliberately withholding the identity of the other would-be hijacker. Vala smiled to herself, realizing that some of these people probably knew Daniel, and Sam clearly wanted his arrival to be a surprise.

"Which one of you zatted me?" drawled a dark-haired man she thought looked a little like Daniel. He'd never mentioned any brothers or close cousins, though. "Deck three, port side."

"That was Vala," Sam grinned. "Vala, the noisy one over there is Major Cameron Mitchell, the squad leader for our version of the Goa'uld Death Gliders. You already know Jonas and Teal'c, of course."

"Of course," she agreed, sniffing cautiously at a piece of green fruit. It looked an awful lot like the tart apples she'd enjoyed as a child, but she'd long since learned not to judge a food by its color. A careful bite later, she decided it tasted exactly as she remembered.

"Colonel Lionel Pendergast, the ship's captain. Last, but certainly not least, Doctor Janet Fraiser, the SGC's chief medical officer."

"'Ewwo," she mumbled around another mouthful of juicy apple.

"Where's your friend?" the tiny brunette asked.

On cue, the mess hall door opened again, admitting Jack O'Neill. The colonel immediately stepped to one side, holding out his arms and pumping them exaggeratedly. Rolling his eyes in amusement, Daniel entered the room, dressed in coveralls similar to what Vala wore.

"Son of a gun," muttered Cameron.

"No," Daniel smiled. "Just--"

"Daniel!" Janet exclaimed, flying out of her chair and practically tackling him.

Vala grinned to herself and took another bite of her apple. For an only child, she sure had an awful lot of new sisters!

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Yes, I am a card-carrying member of the WWLD Sisterhood//big grin// 


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

It was amazing what a difference a shower and fresh clothes could make. Just as Daniel was zipping the top of the coveralls, Jack peeked through the door of the bathroom in his private quarters--the privileges of rank, he'd grinned.

"I sent Teal'c 'n' Jonas on ahead to get the mess hall ready for us. It's after 2300 already, so there isn't any hot food ready... plenty of sandwich-fixin's, though. Dinner _a la carte_."

Daniel nodded. "That'll be fine. Vala finished yet?"

"No idea. She was still in the shower when I talked to Carter." He shoved his hands in his pants pockets. "So... Vala."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, knowing that tone of voice. "_I_ asked _her _to marry me. She drives me nuts, but I love her anyway. _You _drive me nuts, but I still like you pretty well, too."

"Back at 'cha," Jack agreed, then sobered. "Daniel, why didn't you come home? If Vala's part of the 'complicated', she still would have been welcomed. You _know_ that."

"Vala's a former host. As much as folks wanted to get their hands on Sam after the Jolinar incident, they would have been even more eager to get their hands on a former Goa'uld."

"Yeah, what _is _it with you a snaky women?" He made a face. "Er, what I meant--"

"I know," he interrupted, then shrugged his shoulders. "On the plus side, she was a host before I ever met her, so it's kinda the reverse of Sarah and Sha're. As far as I know, she doesn't have an inclinations to become a 'Destroyer of Worlds' either... more like a 'Robber of Worlds', instead."

"She's a thief?"

"And a pirate." He grinned. "Come to think of it, me too."

"Pirate?"

"I was trying to hijack a ship, wasn't I?"

Jack gave a goofy half-smile. "Good point. Wait, pirate _and _thief?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't you consider all archaeologists grave robbers?"

"Okay, you got me," the colonel admitted, raising his hands in mock-surrender. "But don't go changing the subject."

"What subject?"

"Daniel..."

He scrubbed a hand through his damp hair. "My other reasons were even worse. Keeping Vala away from the likes of Simmons is one thing, of course, but..." He bit his lip. "What happened at Abydos was my fault."

"No, it wasn't."

"Not completely, no, but part of it was. I guess some part of me thought I had to find some way to make it up to you guys before you'd welcome me back."

"Well, _that_ was dumb."

He looked down at the tops of his boots. "I realize that _now_. You know me, though."

Jack nodded and leaned against the door frame. "Decided to take a little guilt trip, did ya?"

"Oh, yeah. Fortunately, Vala's been able to help me start getting my head straightened out--"

"Ooh, there's a daunting task."

"--So we thought we'd help search for the Lost City."

The colonel looked impressed. "You really _do_ remember everything, don't you?"

"No, not really," he admitted. "I mean, I think I remember almost everything from before I... died. The time I spent Ascended is mostly a big blank, though. There are a few snatches from Abydos, but that's pretty much it."

"So, what have you found so far?"

Daniel sighed. "Nothing, yet. We'd just finished checking out the first planet on a list we compiled when we got shot down in Osiris' territory."

"Ah."

He fiddled with his zipper. "Jack? I remember almost everything, but... what happened to us? I mean, one day we were really, really good friends, then all of a sudden we were at each other's throats all the time."

Jack strolled over and sat down on the bench, resting his arms on his knees and steepling his fingers. "The Russian submarine."

His brow furrowed. "Really?"

"I gave Davis the order to blow the sub, but he waited for your confirmation. That's why I gave him an _order_, so you wouldn't have to... pull the plug. But you did it anyway."

"Believe me, that was one of the _hardest_ things I've ever had to do. But why--"

"You think your reasons are stupid? You grew up on me, Danny. The long-haired geek I protected like an awkward kid brother proved he could do whatever had to be done. I've had a lot of time to think about this, you know.

"I stopped. It may not have been the absolute dumbest thing _I've_ ever done, but it certainly rates in the top five. Some part of me figured that since you could handle some pretty bad shit all on your own, that maybe I could stop giving you the kid gloves treatment."

Realization dawned on Daniel. "It wasn't just you, Jack. The harder you pushed, the harder I pushed back. By the time... by Kelowna, we'd shoved each other so far apart, the Goa'uld could probably have flown a mother ship in between us."

"Yeah? Well, you still came back to me... asked _me_ to pull the plug."

Daniel winced. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah. But you know what? I finally understood what I'd asked you to do back with the sub. I may be a complete dumbass sometimes, but I got it, though a little late."

Daniel understood, too. He may not have had the time to consider things that Jack had, but he realized now that telling Major Davis to destroy the submarine had been tantamount to giving up on Jack--and Teal'c--and the team's ability to find solutions where none existed. Similarly, his asking Jack to let him go, let him Ascend, had been asking Jack to turn his back on the possibility of finding yet another miracle. It wasn't just giving up on the life of a teammate, it was giving up on the spirit of the team. The friendship.

The _family_.

"A little," he agreed aloud.

"A little late, or a little bit of a dumbass?"

"A little of both?"

Jack ruffled his hair. "Smartass. All this heavy thinking is making me hungry."

Daniel's stomach growled, answering for him. "Thanks, Jack."

"Thank _you_, Daniel. Would you believe I'd handed in my resignation just before the mission to Makosis?"

"Really?"

"Yep. You'd been missing for four months already, and no one had any idea what happened to you. So I handed Hammond my retirement papers then waltzed down to the 'Gate room five minutes late for what I thought was my very last mission. The 'Gate wouldn't connect at first, but when we re-dialed, we got through. Found some guy named 'Darius' waiting for us."

Daniel froze. "Dar-_ian_. But that means--"

"That if I hadn't wasted five minutes feeling sorry for myself, we might have met you and your girlfriend at the 'Gate." Jack stood up gingerly, obviously cautious of his knees. "What's done is done, though, and I hear a pecan pie at the mess hall calling my name."

The trip through the hall was made in companionable silence, Jack peering around corners as they came to them as though expecting a horde of adoring fans to descend upon Daniel if he dropped his guard. The corridors were empty, though, he figured the late hour was the main culprit. The "time of day" held no meaning aboard a spaceship, but he was sure shifts were observed just as they would be back on _terra firma_.

Stepping into the mess hall, Jack slid off to one side and gestured grandly, doing a rather poor imitation of Vanna White. While he didn't recognize the two men sitting at the table adjacent to the one at which Vala sat, he did know the woman in the lab coat.

"Son of a gun," grinned the younger of the two men.

"No," Daniel corrected immediately, "Just--"

"Daniel!" Janet yelped, and before he could blink, he had the diminutive doctor wrapped around his ribcage.

He should have asked for the return of his armor!

"Hey, Janet," he grinned instead, stooping a little to give her a returning hug. "Long time no see, huh?"

She pulled back from the embrace, reining in her enormous grin to look over him with a critical eye. "Ribboned again?"

"Yes, but I'm fine. Really. Scout's honor."

"You better be," she warned. "I do _not_ want to see you in my infirmary for anything worse than a papercut, is that clear?"

The tone of voice she adopted invoked images of syringes with long, skinny needles. "I missed you, too," he laughed.

Her face lit up again and she gave him another quick hug. "Welcome back, Daniel."

Finally released, Daniel made his way over to the food-laden table and sat down beside Vala, reaching over to give her free hand a gentle squeeze. She beamed at him then turned gratefully back to her enormous sandwich. By the way she was wolfing it down, he figured she hadn't eaten in an even longer time than he had.

Jack quickly introduced the grinning major and the impassive colonel, then sat down with his aforementioned piece of pie. "So... how'd the two of you get the suits?"

"If I could," Vala interrupted, licking her fingers. "I have a small request before we get started."

"Sure."

"Daniel and I had to leave two of our friends behind on the planet we just escaped from, so if you don't have any objections--"

Jack looked to Pendergast. "Rescue mission number four?"

"It's your call, sir."

He looked to each of the other people seated around the table, then nodded. "Anything for friends of Daniel's." The other colonel rose from his chair and left the mess hall, presumably to get the ship underway. "So... Super Soldier suits?"

Daniel swallowed his bite of food. "The cargo ship we, uh, _commandeered_ belonged to a weapons trader Vala had previously had some dealings with. To make a much longer story a little shorter, he did us dirty, so we took his ship from him."

Sam blinked. "You stole his ship?"

"Pirates," Vala mumbled, halfway through another sandwich. "Not very good ones, but we're pirates."

"Is that a Blackbeard kind of pirate or a Captain Hook?" asked Mitchell.

"More like _Penzance_," Daniel admitted with a grin, eliciting snickers from his teammates and Janet, who had all gone with him to see the opera in Denver years ago. "It was our second stolen ship, though, and Vala's... what, fourth?"

"Fifth."

"Fifth. So _anyway_, we were leaving the planet's atmosphere when the same gliders that shot down our _first_ ship started chasing us again. I got us out of the planet's gravity and hit the hyperdrive. One of the _al'kesh_ went after us, but Sarilis Camir--one of our friends--had modified the engines with something we'd picked up with our _last_ ship."

"I have heard of Huntress Camir," Teal'c announced.

"Really?" Vala asked.

"Really?" Jack echoed.

"She is a most formidable bounty hunter."

"You were hanging out with a _bounty hunter_?"

"Pirates," Vala reminded him.

Daniel laughed. "Pirates with _terrible_ luck, though. Five minutes after hitting the hyperdrive, the modifications shorted out and dropped us back into real space."

"Well, _that_ sucks."

"Oh, yeah. So here we are, frantically searching through all of the boxes of spare parts this guy had tucked in the back, trying to find crystals to replace the ones we'd just fried. Suddenly, the _al'kesh_ drops out of hyperspace right on top of us and starts shooting. I ran _back _to the cockpit to take evasive maneuvers while Vala kept looking for the parts, when all of a sudden, she came across the two Kull suits."

"I have _no_ idea where he got them," she added, inspecting a plastic pudding cup before peeling back the foil. "Nobody can kill the things."

"Actually, they're genetically-engineered to fail after only a few days," Sam informed them. "Teal'c and another Jaffa, Master Bra'tac, encountered one on another planet that took everything they had, then fell over dead from multiple organ failure."

"So Andron or one of his contacts must have found two expired drones and taken their armor," Daniel guessed. "Either way, it was really interesting getting changed while trying to evade an _al'kesh_. Once we had the suits on, we moved the cargo ship underneath them, then ringed aboard."

"They were loyal to Osiris," Vala continued, "and when they realized the two Kull warriors weren't on _their_ side, two of the cowards tried to blow up the ship. We stopped them, of course, but not before they'd destroyed an entire bank of crystals."

"With two more _al'kesh_ waiting back at the planet, Vala ringed back to the _tel'tak_ and sent a distress call. We were hoping one of them would come investigate, and we could steal _that_ ship."

Sam grinned. "But we showed up, instead."

Daniel nodded. "_Big_ surprise. I didn't even know you guys were anywhere _close _to having a ship of this size ready."

"The naquadria helped," Jonas spoke up for the first time. "It didn't prove all that useful... in the end, but it certainly gave them a considerable head-start on hyperdrive engines."

"Thanks for bringing some along, then."

Jonas shook his head. "Thank _you_."

Sensing there was something else going on, Daniel opened is mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Pendergast's voice over the intercom. "_SG-1, report to the bridge_."

"That includes you," Jack declared, pointing at Daniel and Vala. "You too, Doc."

"What about me, sir?" Mitchell asked.

Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "The president of the SG-1 Fan Club can come, too."

Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassed expression covering the other man's face.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
The boys went all serious on me, so didn't banter as much as I expected! But then Mitchell stepped in, and it went from there. 

I'm typing a little slower here lately, probably because of the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome courtesy of this story. Whoops...


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

They emerged from hyperspace just as SG-1 and friends arrived on the Bridge. "Picking up two _al'kesh_, sir," announced the woman seated at one of the consoles at the center of the room.

"Mitchell, get your wing saddled up," ordered Pendergast.

"Yes, sir!" acknowledged the dark haired man. He spun around and leaned over a free console, activating the internal communications. "Snakeskinners, report to the launch bay!" He grinned at SG-1, and Colonel O'Neill in particular. "Presidency will have to wait another day, sir."

Up to this point, Vala hadn't been sure if the colonel was joking about the team having a fan club or not. The Tau'ri sense of humor, she decided, consisted of a lot of false statements and vague references to people, places, and events from their unusual culture. Daniel had occasionally made some confusing references of his own, some of which he tried to explain and others he just dismissed as unimportant. That, of course, had only made her even more curious to know what she was missing.

"No movement from the _al'kesh_, sir."

Pendergast straightened in his seat. "Take us closer to the planet, then."

"Vala, see if you can reach Sarilis from here," Daniel suggested.

She nodded and reached for her right ear, frowning when she didn't feel anything. "I think the transmitter must have washed out in the shower," she admitted, embarrassed.

"Whoops," he agreed. "Okay, new plan. Vala and I ring down to the planet in the Kull suits and help the refugees."

"Refugees?" Jack asked.

Daniel gave a small shrug. "I guess we forgot to mention that Osiris had two Kull warriors with her and sicced 'em on the native Jaffa population when we, ah... pissed her off."

"You? Piss off a snake?"

"Hey, everything I know about snake-baiting, I learned from you."

"Yeah. I'm so proud."

"Do the Kull weapons work on their own armor?" Vala interrupted before the two men could get carried away again.

"We've already tested that theory," Sam answered, "and it doesn't work. We think we managed to slow the production of more... 'Kull' by destroying the queen that was spawning the symbiotes, but that's about the only thing we've accomplished."

"Well, if their own weapons don't work on them--" Daniel began.

"--Then Anubis must have some other kind of kill-switch built in," the blond major finished. "Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what that is at this time."

"Perhaps we can buy the refugees additional time to evacuate," Teal'c suggested.

"I told Sarilis and Mai to send them to Chulak, by the way. Some of the leaders were members of the Jaffa rebellion, and the rest rebelled after their 'god' turned on them."

"And they did not recognize you, Daniel Jackson?"

"I didn't tell them who I was," he admitted. "I was a little concerned about word spreading to Anubis. It was bad enough with Osiris already on her way."

Vala crossed her arms. "Well, this is all very lovely, but how do we rescue Sarilis and Mai? 'Cause if I don't hear a better idea soon, then Daniel and will just go down and hold off the drones ourselves."

"Osiris might know what the kill-switch is," Jonas guessed. "If so, you'd be walking into a trap."

Daniel brightened. "Great idea! I mean, the last we saw her, Vala'd just blasted her into a wall with Osiris' own hand device. We ran out of the cell then and locked her in it. She might still be there."

"And _since _we took her ribbon," Vala added, "she couldn't just, uh, 'beam up' to her _al'kesh_."

"'Beam up'?" Sam repeated.

"That's what Daniel called it."

"Osiris somehow got a hold of Asgard beaming technology," the archaeologist clarified.

She nodded in understanding. "That must have been when she and Anubis captured Thor."

"They captured _Thor?_"

"The little guy's okay though," Jack reassured him. "He uploaded himself into the ship's computer, then downloaded back into a new body when he got the chance. It was right after you... you know."

Vala could pretty well guess that "Thor" was an Asgard and a friend of Daniel's. She cleared her throat. "Unfortunately, I left her ribbon device back on the _tel'tak_. It was attached to my clothing, and... well... there really wasn't any place to put it in those skin-tight Kell suits."

"The controls for the beam were on it?" Sam asked. "Well, we can pick it up when we go back to salvage those two ships, then."

"So what's our plan?" Jack interrupted.

Daniel crossed his arms. "Well, one thing we _do_ need to do is ring down and grab Osiris. I highly doubt she'll tell us what the kill-switch is, but at least we can take her back to the Tok'ra and get them to remove the symbiote."

"I hope they do a better job on her than they did on me," Vala mumbled, hand creeping up to the back of her neck.

Sam blinked in surprise. "You're a former host? Then you must be the contact Dad--Sel'mac--told us about."

"The one he said was considered unreliable because she didn't trust the Tok'ra?" Jack turned his head toward Vala and looked her up and down. "I like you better and better all the time."

"_Back_ to the topic at hand," Daniel sighed. "Vala and I will wear the Kull suits and lead the real Kull on a wild goose chase while the refugees finish evacuating... if they haven't already."

"I don't _think_ so," Jack replied. "You're walking wounded. Teal'c and I will wear the suits."

"Teal'c would be better off letting his presence be known among the Jaffa. The two I met seemed pretty impressed I knew him."

"I'll do it, then," Jonas offered.

"Excellent," the colonel hissed, tapping his fingertips together. Vala figured it was probably another of those confusing Tau'ri expressions since Daniel and Sam rolled their eyes.

"One of the _al'kesh _is moving toward us," announced the young woman who'd spoken earlier.

"Crap," Jack muttered. "Jonas, Teal'c, let's move. If the other _al'kesh_ decides to join the party, we might have some big trouble."

The woman shook her head. "I'm not detecting any life signs aboard the other ship."

"We didn't detect any aboard the ship Daniel and Vala were on, either."

"Our sensors were encountering interference then, sir," Sam corrected, peering over the console, "but not now."

Vala smiled at Daniel. "Okay, so Daniel and I ring aboard _that_ ship and steal it." The suggestion earned her raised eyebrows from everyone except her partner. "What?"

"That's a _great_ idea," he grinned. "I bet the reason it's empty is because it was Osiris' personal ship and she's already down on the planet. If we can get control of the ship's beaming technology--"

"--We could beam the Kull into space!" the blond finished enthusiastically.

"Genius," Vala nodded approvingly.

"We'll worry about picking up Osiris later, then. Take SG-3 with you, Major," Jack ordered, backing out into the corridor. "And try not to beam up the wrong Super Soldiers, will ya?"

"I'll try my best, sir," Sam replied, straight-faced. The colonel then rolled his eyes and turned down the hall, muttering something about not receiving any respect.

Daniel flashed her an approving grin. "We'd better get moving, then."

"Make it quick," Pendergast agreed. "It might be difficult to get you aboard that ship if the other _al'kesh_ starts firing on us."

"Have Reynolds and his team meet us at the ring room on level four, sir," Sam requested, motioning for Daniel and Vala to follow. Not far off of the command center was a small armory. The major handed out black vests to each of them, then pulled down what looked to be a high-powered projectile weapon. Her eyebrows rose when Daniel reached for one of his own.

"I _do_ remember how to use one of these," he replied, tucking what Vala assumed to be ammunition rounds into the large pockets on the front of the vest. When she reached for a rifle of her own, he held out a holster instead. "The P90's a little tricky. I think it'd be easier if you stick with the zat."

"Hopefully, we won't have to use either," she pointed out, belting the holster into place on her thigh. "All set?"

Sam passed them each a small black device with a little finger-like projection on one end. "It's a radio," she explained at Vala's apparent confusion. "It's so we can communicate with Teal'c or with the _Prometheus_."

"Simple enough," she agreed.

Four men in black uniforms waited for them in the ring room in which she and Daniel had first arrived, the eyes of one of them widening in surprise. "Doctor Jackson!"

"Reynolds," Daniel greeted. "Nice to see a familiar face."

"_Major Carter, we're in position above the _al'kesh"

"Roger," she acknowledged, then nodded to the young woman who was waiting at the ring control panel.

Reynolds looked at Sam. "We're not ringing over in front of a pair of Super Soldiers, are we?"

"No, you're ringing over _with_ the pair of Super Soldiers who shot you earlier," Daniel grinned.

The noise of the activating rings drowned out the man's reply, depositing all seven people on the deck of the _al'kesh_. The four men known as SG-3 fanned out, moving swiftly and skillfully to secure the room. "All clear," their leader reported.

"We should probably try the Bridge first," Sam suggested, motioning for Daniel and Vala to follow. As the ship appeared to be as devoid of life as their ship's sensors had indicated, they were soon in the _al'kesh_'s cockpit. "Okay, let's see what we have here..."

Vala slid into the pilot's seat. "The controls are locked," she reported.

"They're encrypted, too," the major added, having been able to get the interface to display on the screen. "Daniel, this looks like Ancient."

He set his weapon down on the central console. "It _is_ Ancient. This might take a little bit."

"You should probably hurry," Vala swallowed, pointing out at tiny specks of light which seemed to be growing larger. "I'm pretty sure those are Death Gliders heading our way."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
They all work so _well_ together, don't they? 

//hugs SG-One-and-Three-Quarters//  
(Jack, Sam, Jonas, Teal'c, Daniel, Vala, and Cam--since he and his Snakeskinners are about to have fun, too)


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

"_Colonel O'Neill, we have incoming Death Gliders. Are you ready to ring down to the surface?_"

Teal'c nodded his readiness, then hefted the P90 he'd decided to carry in lieu of his usual staff. It was a far more maneuverable weapon should he be forced to run from the genuine Kull. "I am ready, O'Neill."

"Ready," chimed in Jonas Quinn, zat ready in his right hand while he clutched his own helmet with the left. When the colonel indicated he was also prepared, Teal'c toggled his radio and informed Colonel Pendergast that they were waiting at the rings.

O'Neill then nodded to the young technician who waited on them, and they were swept away in a roar of light and sound. When the brightness faded, they were in a stone-walled room not unlike many thousands of other rooms Teal'c had seen in his time as a servant of Apophis or as a member of SG-1.

There was a quiet shuffling noise to his immediate right. He whirled around, aiming his weapon at the threat and was pleased to note that O'Neill and Jonas Quinn were just as swift in their own reactions. With two zats and a P90 covering the alcove, O'Neill called out, "Come on out from there with your hands up. Don't get any bright ideas."

A dark-haired, round-faced man slowly stood up from behind the stone altar he had been using as concealment, arms held in front of him with palms turned upward. Teal'c felt his lips quirk slightly at this man's interpretation of O'Neill's orders. He sobered almost immediately, though, coming to the swift realization that this was the man from whom Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran had stolen their _tel'tak_. The man who had, in Daniel Jackson's words, "done them dirty". For the peace-loving linguist, that was no doubt an understatement.

Although, he pondered, it seemed as though the man who had returned from a higher plane of existence was not quite the same as he once had been. He doubted O'Neill or Major Carter had consciously formed the same conclusion. Daniel Jackson was wilder, freer, and more at peace with himself than he had ever been. If Vala Mal Doran was responsible, even in part, then she had Teal'c's eternal gratitude.

"P-please don't hurt me, Master Jaffa," the trader quavered.

"Be silent!" Teal'c thundered. "You are fortunate Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran spared your life. Given the circumstances, _I_ may not have done the same." He didn't _know_ those circumstances, of course, but he'd played enough poker with the soldiers at the SGC to know how to bluff.

O'Neill, despite his predilection for pretending otherwise, was hardly stupid. "I _still_ might," he added, though he likely had even less of an idea of what the weapons trader had done than Teal'c did. "Okay, Andrew, here's the deal."

"Andron," the man automatically corrected.

"Whatever. You stay here and mind your own business or we'll lock you in the same cell as Osiris. Got it?"

"Yes," Andron swallowed.

"And put your hands down, you look like an idiot."

"Oh." Suitably cowed, he lowered his arms, then sat down against the wall. "I will... wait here."

"A wise decision," Teal'c agreed. He toggled his radio. "Daniel Jackson, we are inside the fortress."

"_Uh, I'm a little busy at the moment, but Vala can give you directions._"

"_How do I use this thing? Oh!_" She cleared her throat, then began to instruct them. Shortly thereafter, they emerged from the structure into the crisp night air. The large moon overhead supplied sufficient illumination, and they were soon moving over the ground at a rapid pace.

They reached the Stargate minutes later, but the field around it was littered with dead Jaffa. It was a scene very reminiscent of the first such Kull battlefield he had discovered, with many of the warriors having been cut down while fleeing.

"Maybe they already got off the planet?" Jonas Quinn suggested.

"There are no women or children among these dead," Teal'c answered. "Either they have made it to safety or they have yet to reach the Stargate."

As O'Neill opened his mouth to reply, there was a bright flash of light to the west. Seconds later, they heard the report of the explosion, muffled by the distance. "Well, _someone's_ still here," he remarked instead.

"Indeed." He reached for his radio again. "Major Carter, we have witnessed an explosion nearby and are moving to investigate."

"_Roger, Teal'c. Vala says that Sarilis and Mai were helping the Jaffa to set up traps in hopes of slowing or stopping the Kull, so the colonel and Jonas should wait until the last possible minute before donning their helmets_."

"Oh, traps," O'Neill grumbled. "Great."

"We will proceed with caution, Major Carter," Teal'c replied.

"At least it's a sign that Sarilis and Mai are probably still here," Jonas Quinn observed. "I mean, if they're still setting up traps..."

O'Neill blew out a sharp breath of air. "Just so long as we don't run into any surprises." He slowed abruptly. "Wait, was that--"

"Indeed it was," Teal'c finished, stopping beside the colonel. Inhaling, he shouted, "_Shal'kek nem'ron!_"

The tall brush ahead rustled, giving way to two weary-looking armored Jaffa. The pale moonlight washed out their features, making them seem almost as ghosts. "The price of our freedom _is_ death, brother," one of them spoke. "Our god has sent these _orak_ to destroy us for our disobedience."

"Osiris is a false god," Teal'c replied. "She has been imprisoned in her own fortress by the very people she herself attempted to hold captive."

"We're here to help," Jonas Quinn added.

The second of the two Jaffa, shook his head, leaning heavily against his staff now that the newcomers had proven to not be hostile. "The Kull cannot be stopped. They are demons, the unholy servants of Anubis. We are all doomed."

O'Neill hefted his helmet. "We Tau'ri have an expression: fight fire with fire."

The first Jaffa had begun to turn away, but snapped his head around to look at O'Neill. "You are Tau'ri?"

"I am Teal'c," the former First Prime answered, bowing. "My companions are Jonas Quinn and Colonel O'Neill."

The two Jaffa exchanged a look. "Morlem said that the human male knew of you, Master Teal'c, but we had not thought he could summon your assistance."

"He sent us to seek out Huntress Sarilis Camir and Han Mai," he replied. "Please take us to them swiftly."

The Jaffa were spurred into motion, weariness momentarily dismissed in order to accomplish their appointed task. Teal'c noted their resolve with favor, pleased that they had been trained well.

A colorful stream of expletives greeted his ears long before the growth thinned into a boulder-strewn clearing filled with huddled figures. Jaffa women and children leaned against the pitiful shelter offered by the rocky protrusions, clearly too exhausted to move but too anxious to sleep. If the Kull were to descend upon this field, they would all be slaughtered.

There was another burst of creative profanities, followed by the sudden appearance of a bright light. "Somebody give me another staff," ordered a raspy alto.

"Huntress Camir!" called one of their escorts. "We have returned with assistance."

The bounty hunter looked up from her make-shift worktable. "Really? How good are they with naquada explosives?"

"Oh, I _love_ blowing up stuff," O'Neill remarked casually, "but I'd much rather help you kids evacuate."

Huntress Camir whipped around to stare at them incredulously. "And who are you?"

"Colonel Jack O'Neill of the--"

"Tau'ri," she finished. "A bit slow on the rescue, Colonel. I believe your wayward archaeologist left the planet some hours ago."

"We encountered Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran on our way here," Teal'c replied. "It was they who sent us to you."

She breathed a sigh of relief, leaning her elbows against the boulder in front of her. "Well, if you met them on your way here, you must have come by ship. I hope it's a big one, 'cause we're not going anywhere otherwise."

"What about the Stargate?" Jonas asked.

"The pedestal's primary crystal was removed to keep Osiris from bringing reinforcements. Unfortunately, the poor kid who was carrying it got shot by one of the thrice-damned Kull and accidentally cracked it when he fell."

"That sucks," O'Neill commented.

"More than 'sucks', Colonel," the bounty hunter snapped testily. "We've been running for close to a day and a half. I have these boys taking shifts being ' bait', just to keep the Kull from finding the rest of us. We lead 'em in circles, try to drop rocks on top of 'em whenever we can, but they just won't _stop_."

The desperation in her voice pulled at Teal'c. It reminded him of some of the many times when his Tau'ri friends--particularly Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter--would work themselves past the point of exhaustion to solve a crisis. He would never have believed a bounty hunter could be so self-sacrificing, and yet here was one who was leading Jaffa refugees through a crisis which seemed to be completely hopeless.

"How many refugees?" O'Neill asked.

"Six hundred in this group," Huntress Camir replied. "There are at least three other groups of equal six."

The colonel swore. "Teal'c, check to see how the kids are doing on their end."

"Major Carter, we have met with Huntress Camir. What have you discovered?"

"_Osiris has placed encryptions on practically _everything," Major Carter answered. "_Daniel and I are working our way through them as fast as we can. They're in Ancient._"

"_If I'd brought Osiris' hand device, we probably wouldn't have needed to go through all this,_" Vala Mal Doran added. "_We can't even fire the weapons yet._"

"_Sir, the _Prometheus _and the _al'kesh_ engaged in battle just a few minutes ago. Without being able to access sensors, I can't tell how it's going. The 302s were launched when gliders started to approach our position, but the battle is too far away to watch un-enhanced._"

Another distant explosion was heard, light flashing in the sky. From the lack of reaction from the despondent refugees, there had been far too many such detonations to be disturbed by them any longer.

"What are you using for explosives?" Jonas Quinn asked.

"Staff weapon cores," came the reply. "Hell, the weapons don't work against the Kull, might as well use 'em another way."

"Look," O'Neill began. "We might not be able to kill these guys ourselves, but if we can keep them on the run long enough, they'll eventually keel over and die. They aren't built to last."

"They can last longer than we can," she answered.

"Jonas and I are pretty fresh still and with these suits on, we can take a hit or two from these guys while none of _you_ can. Let us lead them off for a while, let you rest."

"And then?"

"_Teal'c, Daniel and I have cleared the last encryption! Vala's reporting full engine and weapon responses, and I think I can figure out the transporter controls._"

O'Neill motioned for Teal'c to activate his radio. "Carter, work on figuring out the transporter _after_ you go help out the _Prometheus_. This whole ride's for nothing if we don't have a ship to get home in, got it?"

"_Yes, sir,_" she replied, clearly not liking his orders.

"And in the meantime?" Huntress Camir asked.

"Same as before. Jonas and I lead the Super Soldiers on a wild goose chase while you folks get some much needed rest. Daniel and Vala have a plan for getting rid of the bad guys, but it'll just have to wait a little while longer."

"I understand," she sighed, leaning against the boulder and sliding down to the ground. She delved into a pocket and pulled out a gray communications ball. "Sorat?" When there was no answer, she hurled the device across the clearing. "Well, Colonel, I seem to have lost another patrol. It's your show, now."

"We're on it," he answered, pulling the helmet over his head. Jonas Quinn followed suit, then the two men began to jog across the field in the direction of the most recent explosion.

"Where is Han Mai?" Teal'c asked as his friends departed.

Huntress Camir closed her eyes. "Hell if I know. She volunteered for one of the patrols early this evening. I haven't seen her since." She kicked at a stray rock shard. "It looks like we're all back to hoping Vala and Daniel come through for us. Again."

Teal'c crouched beside her. "I have known Daniel Jackson for many years. Not even death can stop him from fulfilling his promises."

"Spoken with the wisdom of experience," she remarked. "Once Vala sets her heart on something, she can't be dissuaded from her pursuit. Between you and me? I don't think there's _anything_ those two can't accomplish together."

* * *

Author's Notes:  
We're gettin' down to the wire! Unless this story gets other ideas, we're looking at three more chapters for a grand total of SEVENTY. (Wow. Who'd have thought?)

Have a lovely weekend, a wonderful Mother's Day, and I'm off to rest my wrist and elbow...


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

The brilliant flash of the exploding _al'kesh_ lit up the forward display, causing Daniel to flinch away briefly. Opening his eyes, he grinned across the center console at Vala. The dark-haired woman released the control yoke of their own ship and beamed at him.

"Well, that was fun."

"Lots," he agreed. "We make a good team."

She feigned a look of shock. "Why Daniel Jackson, are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe. Are you objecting?"

"Of course not... but what will my fiancé think?"

"Oh, get a room," Sam muttered from behind them, looking up briefly from her laptop.

Daniel rolled his eyes and looked down at the woman seated cross-legged on the floor, her back against the console. "_Yes_, Major-Doctor-ma'am. How you coming with the transporter?"

"Well, now that the two of you are finished stressing the inertial dampeners, I think I might be getting somewhere."

Their radios crackled. "_Major, the 302s just took out the last of the Death Gliders. You are clear to return to orbit._"

"Understood, Colonel," Sam replied. "I think we're going to be ready to test the transporter in just a few minutes."

"_Have you heard from Colonel O'Neill?_"

"Just before we joined the fight, Teal'c informed us that the colonel and Jonas were going to go lead the Super Soldiers away from the refugee camp. They have their earpieces in so they can hear us, but won't be able to respond."

"_Very well. After we finish bringing the 302s back aboard, we'll rendezvous with you in orbit._"

Daniel activated his own radio. "Did we take any losses?"

"_Two of our own fighters_."

He closed his eyes in sympathy, mourning the loss of life. It could have been far worse, of course, and at least he could take some small measure of comfort in knowing that the pilots of the 302s had died doing what they loved to do.

"Thank you, Colonel," he replied. "We'll be in touch."

Vala took the controls and they were soon above the planet again. Daniel used the sensors to locate the Stargate and fed them into the pilot's controls, locking them into geosynchronous orbit on the night side of the planet.

"Oh, boy, this might be a problem."

"What?" Daniel and Vala chorused.

"Well, if you remember," Sam began, "Thor could transport people from pretty much anywhere. According to this information, Osiris had this ship's sensors calibrated to detect a very specific signal and send it directly to the transporter."

"Like a 'beam me up' signal?" Daniel guessed.

"Something like that," she agreed. "I can only presume it's because Goa'uld sensor technology isn't even _half_ as sensitive as the Asgard's."

"It needs a homing beacon," Vala surmised.

"Essentially, yes. Now if we had the hand device here, we could probably just activate it and record the necessary signal. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to do a little digging through the computer to find it. All the notes are in Goa'uld, Ancient, or both, so I'm going to need your help."

Because Vala had more technical expertise than he did, Daniel deferred to his partner on the Goa'uld translations, and did his best to accurately convert Ancient to English. Of course, there was still a rather heated discussion over a word which had two possible translations that were close enough in definition to seem nearly interchangeable to him, but Sam assured him could make quite a difference.

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," muttered Reynolds, having caught the tail end of the argument as he passed through the cockpit on his circuit through this section of the ship.

He cocked his head. "You know, it _does_ change the meaning again if this symbol here is pronounced--"

"Daniel!" Sam howled in frustration, looking like she was ready to throw her laptop at him.

"--But then again, that doesn't make sense in the context of this sentence," he finished quickly, then leaned over to tap her screen. "You want this one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She selected the indicated algorithm, then worried at the inside of her lip while the computer translated her request into something the ship's computer could understand, then displayed the new results, this time in Goa'uld instead of Ancient. "Great, more notes."

"Actually, I think this is it," Vala perked up, and right on cue, the laptop obligingly loaded a separate window with a wavy-looking graph.

"This _is_ it," Sam blinked. "Okay, this actually looks like two _separate_ signals. Maybe one is the homing beacon and the other the beam activator?"

"I don't remember there being anything in the notes about that," Daniel replied, "but that makes a lot of sense. I mean, you wouldn't want to have to... dial a phone number over and over again, just hit the 'send' button once and let it ring until someone picks up." At Vala's raised eyebrow, he reached across and squeezed her hand, mouthing a quick "tell you later".

Sam thought for a moment, then dug her GDO out of her vest pocket. Sorting through her assorted wires and connectors, she plugged one into the back of her computer and the other into the input port on the remote activator. A few minutes later she looked up and rolled her shoulders. "I think we're ready to give this a try."

Daniel held out his hand for the radio. "Where do you want me to take it? Engine room? Ring room?"

"Why not ring it down to the planet?" Vala suggested.

"Good idea," Sam nodded. "Set it in the rings, push this sequence of buttons, then ring it out. That will start a ten-second countdown before it transmits the first signal, then ten seconds later, the other one. If it doesn't work, we'll bring it back up and try them the other way around."

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, throwing her a grin as he turned to walk out of the room. Reynolds followed, and shortly after, they were standing in the ring room. Hitting the first sequence, he slid the GDO across the floor, then nodded to the colonel. The floor retracted, rings rising around the device and sending it down to the fortress on the planet's surface.

"Transmitter is away," he reported. He wished the quartermaster's supply on the _Prometheus_ had included watches, as he instead counted the seconds off in his head.

Thirty seconds passed before Sam's voice came over the radio. "_No good, Daniel. The sensors spiked after ten seconds, but the transporter didn't activate._"

"Bringing it back up for attempt number two," he acknowledged, nodding to Reynolds again.

His P90 and the colonel's MP-5 whipped up at the same time, targeting the figure that appeared in the rings. When the light cleared, a familiar face was revealed.

"Andron!" he groaned. "What the hell are you doing?"

The startled merchant eyeballed the two weapons pointed his direction. "Uh... nothing?"

"Friend of yours?" Reynolds remarked.

"Not exactly," Daniel answered. "Give me the device and go stand over there next to the wall."

Unwilling to argue when he was under the gun--pun intended--Andron dutifully handed over the GDO and slunk over to the far side of the ring room. "This isn't my ship," he noted.

"We traded it in for a bigger model," he quipped, dialing in the second sequence with his left thumb and pitching it back into the circle.

"_Daniel, it worked_," Sam exclaimed. "_The transporter automatically kicked in when the second signal activated and deposited it up here._"

"Great job! Now we just need to try beaming it out into space," he grinned. "Hey, Vala, guess who dropped in to say 'hi'?"

"_Andron!_" she snapped, making the chubby merchant cringe from the force of her vehemence. "_On second thought, Daniel, let's practice beaming _him _into space._"

"I don't know what that means," Andron began, "but I really don't like the sounds of it."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Well, you're lucky I'm such a nice guy. I'm just going to let my friend--Colonel Reynolds, here--keep an eye on you for a little while. Reynolds, if he so much as twitches, shoot him."

The SG-3 team leader grinned. "Where, sir?"

He grinned. "Foot, leg, arm... heck, surprise me."

"This is _not_ my day," he heard Andron lament as he jogged out the door.

As soon as he entered the cockpit, Sam and Vala looked up from the laptop. "We have a problem," they chorused.

"This is not my day," Daniel sighed, intentionally echoing the merchant. "What's the matter now?"

"There's a different signal needed to process out-going beams," Vala replied. "Locking onto the destination coordinates isn't a problem, but we have no way to actually send it there."

"Oi," he muttered, now imitating Jack. "So we can beam something up, but can't beam it anywhere else again."

"Right," Sam verified, "and we _still _haven't addressed the issue of how we're going to tag the Super Soldiers with the beam-up signal in the first place."

Vala practically bounced in her seat. "Oh! I have the answer to that one... we don't have to. I mean, Osiris beamed them down earlier with just her hand device, so they must have had _some_ kind of signal to pick up, right?"

"And now that we know what we're looking for, we can check the transporter logs to see what kind of signal was targeted!" Sam finished.

Daniel crossed his arms. "But since we don't want to beam them straight into the ship, why don't we confuse the transporter into thinking the cockpit is about a hundred yards--" he pointed outside the viewscreen "--that-a-way?"

The major beamed. "Have I mentioned lately that it's good to have you back?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Lots of announcements! Today marks three complete months since this story was first posted (February 14th)! Two chapters left, but I've already been plotting out the rest of the alternate season seven for the _first_ sequel, and looking at season eight possibilities for a _second _sequel. I also have a number of short story-ish ideas which don't quite fit into any of the overall arcs I have in mind, so they may just appear as stand-alones. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, you wonderful, marvelous people have made this story the 2007 Isis Award Winner for Best Daniel/Vala Action/Adventure _and_ Best Daniel/Vala Romance/Fluff! You rock!


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

"So there I am, my arms wrapped around this humongous boulder, and grunting for Mai to crawl out from underneath it when here comes the Super Soldier I'd been trailing for the last half hour."

"Oh boy," Sam grinned, feet swinging like a little kid as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"'Oh boy' is about right, Major," O'Neill replied, grinning at his enraptured audience. "I'd taken off my helmet to see what I was doing, so I was an easy target--or at least my head was."

"I was moving as quickly as I could," Mai added, looking exhausted but cheerful with her casted leg and bandaged ribs. "When I saw the Kull approach, though, I froze."

"So here comes the Super Soldier, and I just couldn't help myself," he continued. "I turned to it and asked, 'Can you give me a hand?' And you know what he did?"

Jonas smiled, pushed off the wall he was leaning against, and started clapping. Vala didn't quite get the joke, but then again, that was of little surprise to her when it came to Tau'ri humor. If she and Daniel planned to spend any time on this planet, she was going to have to learn more about their extremely complex culture. Frankly, she was looking forward to it, and especially wanted to pick Jonas' and Teal'c's brains for valuable insight.

"The look on his face was priceless," the Kelownan noted.

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "I ask you: do those suits automatically turn mild-mannered academics into comedians? Daniel over there was cracking jokes before he even knew who I was!"

"You're the one who quoted from _Star Wars_," Daniel replied. "How could I resist?"

The colonel turned to the major. "Carter, do you have any doohickeys that can detect a pod person? 'Cause I think we have one sitting right next to Vala."

"That is not a polite thing to call Huntress Camir," Teal'c admonished.

"Is _anyone_ on my side?"

"No," the group chorused.

The Tau'ri leader, General Hammond, chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you're on your own here, Colonel."

"Bunch of traitors," he muttered.

"If you wore receivers in your ears, why didn't either of you get the message about the Kull having been 'beamed' into space?" Sarilis asked, carefully stretching out her braced knee. She'd apparently twisted it during one of the attacks on the villagers and had been grumbling about it from the moment Janet ordered it iced and elevated.

"I think the cliffs were causing interference," Jonas guessed. "They were even bouncing around heat signatures, which made it even _more _difficult to see in those helmets."

Mai nodded. "I tried to call for help for well over an hour after the landslide pinned me, but to no avail. I am _very_ lucky Colonel O'Neill found me."

"Yes, you are," agreed Janet, sweeping back into the main ward of the infirmary. "I'd like to keep you in here for another day, Miss Han, let those ribs get a little chance to rest. Miss Camir, while you're icing that knee, I'll have the nurse bring the both of you something to eat. The rest of you are free to go, but stick around for a few minutes, since I need to talk to Daniel and Vala."

"They check out okay?" O'Neill asked, concerned.

"They're _fine_, Colonel, other than a few uncomfortable bruises. Daniel doesn't even need glasses any more."

"He doesn't?"

Daniel nodded. "One of the worlds we traveled to is pretty much on-par with Earth technologically. We set them up with a trade deal with the Hans, and they fixed my vision."

O'Neill crossed his arms. "Seven years of me bugging you to get corrective surgery and Vala convinces you in what, four months?"

"Two," Vala smiled.

He glowered with mock-suspicion. "And I was just starting to like you."

"You know, Jack," Daniel began, "at first I thought Vala wasn't going to have to worry about problems with the in-laws, but you're going to be the M-I-L from hell, aren't you?"

"The what?" he answered, just as Sam unsuccessfully stifled a snort. Janet was hiding behind her clipboard and General Hammond was shaking his head again. "Okay, the Daniel Jackson _I _used to know wasn't half as snarky as you are. You sure Oma put everything back in the right place?"

"And on _that _note... would you two please join me in my office?"

"When can they leave the mountain, General?" O'Neill asked.

"Not until all the paperwork is completed," Hammond replied. "Doctor Jackson, you'd think by now, I'd be an expert at this."

Daniel grinned. "Hopefully you won't ever have to 'resurrect' me ever again."

"Hear, hear," Sam agreed.

Giving Sarilis' shoulder a quick squeeze, Vala slid off the edge of the bed and followed the shorter woman into her office. Janet waved them to the chairs across from her desk, then closed the door. Settling into her own chair, she folded her arms on the desk top.

"Colonel O'Neill was right about one thing, Daniel... Oma didn't put everything back exactly the same way."

Daniel frowned. "You're saying I'm not human anymore?"

"No! No, nothing like that," she quickly assured them. "Okay... what I'm trying to tell you is that your sperm count was normal."

"What's that mean?" Vala asked.

Daniel blinked. "Well, I had an, um, accident when I was a teenager that made me all-but infertile. It's one of the reasons why Sha're and I never had kids." He blinked and stared hard at Janet. "But if that's not the case any more, then I guess Vala and I need to consider some birth control options."

"A little late for that," the doctor grinned.

Vala felt her jaw drop. "You mean--"

"Yes."

"She is?" Daniel practically squeaked.

"Yes. Only about three weeks along," Janet continued. "Congratulations."

Vala could barely breathe, right hand flailing out to grasp Daniel's and left hand fluttering to her abdomen as though she could feel the tiny life that was growing inside. Only a small collection of cells now, but it would one day be a little person, the spitting image of his father or her mother. A miniature Daniel or Vala.

_Their_ child.

She turned to look at her Daniel, startled to see him rendered absolutely speechless. For all his compassion and gentle nature, she had never seen him cry, either, but there was moisture in his eyes to match that which was undoubtedly gathered in her own. He'd gotten a little teary-eyed telling the Makosins farewell, but it was nothing compared to the mixed excitement, apprehension, joy, and fear that he displayed now. Their lives had just been irrevocably changed.

"A baby," he breathed, then pulled Vala to him for a crushing hug and a tender kiss. "A _baby!_"

"_Our_ baby," she agreed, pressing her cheek against his chest.

When she finally looked up, it was to see the doctor surreptitiously wiping tears of her own. "Don't mind me," Janet apologized, "I'm just happy for the both of you."

"Thank you," Vala smiled.

"Do you want to tell everyone now or wait?" Daniel asked.

She snickered. "I don't think I can keep it a secret for more than two seconds, to be perfectly honest!"

"Me neither," he agreed, grinning from ear to ear. "Everyone's waiting just outside anyway... do you want to tell them or--"

"Together," she declared. "This baby's going to be the best of both of us, so together."

"Together," he agreed, capturing her hands and kissing her knuckles. "As long as I can keep from giving it away!"

"Who's going to be fussier, Sarilis or Colonel O'Neill?" Vala grinned.

Janet rolled her eyes. "Since I don't know Miss Camir that well, my vote's on the colonel." She flicked a finger at Vala. "You'd better get used to him driving you nuts with his constant nagging."

"Consider me duly warned."

After struggling for a moment to regain his composure, Daniel straightened in his seat. "You ready?"

"To be a mother? No. But I'll give it my best shot."

"Yeah, fatherhood wasn't exactly something I expected, either," he agreed. "But I was talking about facing the 'in-laws', so to speak."

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Janet stood and rounded the desk, taking a deep breath before pulling open the door. Rising from their seats, Daniel and Vala followed her out to the main area of the infirmary, both trying hard not to break out into goofy grins and spoil the news before they could deliver it.

Deliver... what an interesting choice of words!

"Good news, I take it?" O'Neill asked.

"Well, good and bad," Daniel replied immediately. "The bad news is, neither of us is going to be going out on missions for a while."

"But what about the _team_?" he practically whined.

Daniel spread his hands, but didn't look up from the floor. "Well, you managed just fine for over a year."

The colonel sulked. "Yeah, but it wasn't the same. Not that that's anything against you, Jonas. I like you well enough."

"You _like_ me?" Jonas echoed. "Just 'like'?"

"Don't push it."

"Is everything all right?" Sam asked, cutting to the point.

"Well, our wedding plans are going to have to change, too," Vala admitted, surprising herself with how steady her voice was.

"What's wrong?" demanded Sarilis. "Osiris didn't do anything to you, did she?" She winced, "Er, not that that's anything against _you, _Miss Gardner."

The heretofore silent woman on the bed in the corner shook her head. "I don't even want to _think_ about what monster did to them."

"_Which _doesn't have anything to do with why we're going to be having a shotgun wedding," Daniel hastily added.

Again, Vala missed the reference, but none of his Tau'ri friends did, stunned into perfect silence. "I'm pregnant," she grinned.

She was suddenly enveloped in a two-sided crushing hug, Sarilis and Sam having crossed the room in a flash to express their congratulations. Mai looked a little put-out at not being able to get up from her own bed, and Sarah Gardner seemed too surprised to much more than blink in their direction.

"Congratulations!" General Hammond, rising from his chair to shake Daniel's hand. Jonas was right behind him, followed by Teal'c. As before, the Jaffa warrior pulled Daniel into a crushing hug once he'd successfully captured his arm.

"I believe you will be an excellent father, Daniel Jackson," he swallowed, pulling back after a moment. "And you a wonderful mother, Vala Mal Doran."

"Better get used to calling her 'Vala Jackson', T," O'Neill called, taking his own turn at shaking Daniel's hand. "So... a little Daniel, eh?"

"Or a little Vala," corrected Sarilis.

Daniel and Vala just looked at one another. The battle of the mother hens had just begun.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Big Grin at KearSeer, the only person to have picked up on Vala's "recent emotional instability" and the reason for it! Just one more chapter kiddos... then my hands will probably fall off! 

Oh, and for anyone who was wondering, Cam was _not_ one of the pilots killed in the dogfight.


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

"Chevron four encoded."

Daniel glanced to his left and smiled at the anxiously-bouncing woman standing next to him. "You sure you're fine with this?"

Vala turned and gave him a defiant look. "I'm _pregnant_, Daniel, not an invalid!"

He grimaced, realizing that he hadn't worded the question clearly. She'd already had more than enough admonishments about taking it easy and avoiding unnecessary stress from self-appointed nags Sarilis and Jack. All the attention had been exciting and fun at first, but was quickly proving to be a bit excessive at times.

"What I meant was, you sure you're okay with letting the Hans turn this into the wedding of the century?"

"It's _our_ wedding, darling," she smiled as Sergeant Harriman called out the final chevron and the wormhole opened. "I wouldn't mind a smaller guest list, of course, but I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone either."

Turning to wave at General Hammond, Daniel stepped into the event horizon, emerging on the other side with only a gentle bump. A fraction of a second later, Vala was beside him. "Me neither," he agreed, waving and calling out a greeting to the Stargate's guard. "But seriously? The Hans, my friends from Earth, and your friends from Katana? Then there's the political guests from Earth, Jaya, the Jaffa rebels, and the Tok'ra, plus at least one Asgard, four Nox, and a who-knows-who-all-else from some of the worlds allied with the SGC. I'm telling you... eloping looks better and better all the time!"

Vala laughed and punched him in the arm. "You're not cheating me out of the chance to wear a wedding gown! Besides, I'm not sure who'd kill us faster: Sarilis or O'Ne--Jack."

"Or Sam... or Mai... or--"

"Silly. Just don't forget that I can be held accountable for only the small number of acquaintances I've made over the years, while _you _are directly to blame for well over eighty-percent of the guest-list... and counting."

He grimaced. "Well, I don't think _I'_m--"

She whacked him across the bicep again. "I thought we'd broken you of that habit?"

"What habit?"

Vala squinted at him. "Thinking less of yourself?"

"I wasn't denying anything other than the fact that _I_'m not the one who dialed up practically every planet I've ever visited to invite them to our wedding! I just can't believe the President--who I _voted for_, by the way--decided to turn this into one great big political showboat." He shook his head in disgust.

"Well, I think it shows that he thinks very highly of you," she answered, lifting her chin defiantly.

He shrugged. "Maybe so, but I can't help but feel that we're going to be the main act at a three-ring circus."

"No, only two rings."

Daniel froze. Did Vala just successfully make a joke out of an Earth reference? He stared at her in bafflement, watching the shy grin spread across her face. "Funny," he sighed, resuming his pace.

"Well, some of these people have known you for a very long time," she replied. "And if we hear back from Nick, that includes someone who's known you since you were a baby."

Daniel didn't hold out many hopes that his grandfather would get the message _or_ accept the invitation, let alone actually show up for the nuptials. "I wouldn't hold my breath on that one." He gave her a smug look. "Hear back from Jacek yet?"

Vala scowled. "Knowing my father, he's likely to try to scam every one of the guests. I hope I _don't_. Besides, this isn't one of those traditional Tau'ri weddings of yours where the father walks the bride down the aisle--"

"True."

"--Because I think being beamed in by Asgard transport would be _far_ more exciting!"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "On the plus side, having an Asgard cruiser or two in orbit of the planet would stop any curious Goa'uld or Luciens from trying to crash the wedding."

"Thank goodness for small favors," she agreed.

They continued on their set path, complaining good-naturedly about the wedding plans being practically yanked out of their hands and given over to the very capable talents of Yuna, the matriarch of the galacticly-respected Han trading family. Daniel didn't envy the plump woman the headache she would undoubtedly garner trying to satisfy all parties. Despite their tenuous alliance, the Jaffa wouldn't be happy sitting next to the Tok'ra, so the Tau'ri would probably have to have the center of the seating arrangements with the other two races on either side.

And that was just _one_ expected snafu.

Nearly an hour after they passed through an overgrown break in the forest, they finally emerged from the springy conifers into a shoulder-high field of ripened grain. Vala probably couldn't see over the tops of the plants well, but Daniel could just make out several cleared sections where the locals were making a headway into harvesting the bountiful crop. One of the workers happened to glance in their direction, so Daniel cheerfully waved a welcome.

It wasn't until they stepped into one of the threshed areas that they were recognized, the short natives being no more able to see over the grains than Vala. "Theadan!" the young man shouted. "Theadan _apistra sa!_"

"Looks like they're happy to see you, too," Vala grinned, nudging him in the ribs.

She was right, of course. Excitement swept through the people of Makosis, the villagers dropping their scythes, rakes, and baskets to gawk at the newcomers, whispering amongst themselves and pointing.

"_Eranos!_" Daniel barely had time to turn when Atrus and his family were suddenly upon him, sweeping him into a group hug that included Vala, too. Finally, after what felt like half the village joining in, they were released, grinning faces surrounding them on all sides.

"We began to grow worried when you did not return for mid-summer festivals," chided the older man. "Your people came looking for you the very day you left!"

"I know," he answered. "I finally remembered who I was. You remember Vala?"

"Of course," replied the village leader, bowing respectfully to the dark-haired woman. "How could I forget such a beautiful lady?"

Although Vala didn't understand much of the Makosin language, she certainly got the gist of this particular message. She beamed at Atrus and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before slipping her arm protectively through Daniel's.

"Oh, I see other matters have changed!" Atrus winked, provoking laughter from the gathered crowd. "But come along, _Eranos!_ You and I have much to discuss, I think... and the grain will not harvest itself!"

Grudgingly, the villagers began to disperse back to their duties, though a few stopped to offer their individual greetings to the man who had once been one of them and the woman who had helped him to become who he was always meant to be. Mikos, the young boy Daniel had saved from drowning nearly a year ago, threw his arms around Daniel's waist in an enthusiastic hug before dashing off to help his father sharpen scythe blades.

As they stepped up to the door of the travelers' hall, Atrus' daughters fingered the trailing edge of the scarf Daniel wore--the scarf they had helped make for him--before reluctantly returning to the fields. Atrus and his wife Melia continued on into the cool building, and the younger couple followed.

"It _is _good to see you again, Da-nee-el," Atrus smiled, settling himself into one of the chairs at the large dining table. "Although we could not understand each other's speech, I believe your 'Zhek' spoke highly of you when he was here."

Keeping up a running translation for Vala, Daniel grinned. "Knowing Jack as I do, he probably called me a pain in the bottom!"

Melia's eyebrows rose. "Do you still think so little of yourself?"

"That's high praise from Jack," he replied with a laugh, shaking his head. "But no, I am beginning to accept who I am. Vala has been very good for me in that regard, as well as other, innumerable ways."

Atrus nodded knowingly. "As I had hoped, she helped you to find your true self _and_ your belief in yourself."

"It wasn't without struggle, of course," he admitted, curling his fingers around Vala's, "but we love each other very much and plan to be married."

Melia gave a cry of joy, leaning across the table to grasp their joined hands. "Oh, Da-nee-el, we are so happy for you!"

"We also want to have the wedding here. Vala and I have made a number of friends in our travels, and there are many allies I made in my past that also have an interest in seeing us exchange vows. Because they come from so many different planets, we wanted to provide a location which was neutral to all the guests." He smiled. "I think it fitting that we embark on a new journey together from the same place as we began our first."

"A complete circle! Yes, you would be more than welcome to bring your people here to see you wed!" Atrus exclaimed as though there was never any question that they _couldn't_ hold the festivities at this village.

"I should warn you, though," Daniel continued, "not all of them will look like we do. There will be some Jaffa in attendance, as well as other races of which you have never heard."

"Any friends of yours are friends of ours," Melia promised, smiling pointedly at Vala.

Vala leaned against him. "Why do I get the feeling I'm about to get mothered to death again?"

He pulled their hands to his lips, kissing the backs of her knuckles. "Because you are," he replied, then switched back to the Makosin language. "We also have further news... better news."

"What could be better than the happiness of a young couple?" the older woman asked.

Daniel could feel the corners of his mouth curling even higher. "Well, in about eight moons, the first 'sky-eyed baby' should make his or her appearance."

Atrus' expression rivaled even the most paternally-possessive look Jack had ever managed. "Oh, _Eranos_..." he whispered. "I do not... Words cannot begin to say how that makes me feel!"

Words were not needed, as the softness and warmth in his eyes told Daniel exactly how much the news affected the older man. Atrus had been his lifeline when Daniel first descended from a higher plane of existence, stripped of mind and cast naked on the ground. The patience and great kindness the people of this world and this village had shown him had allowed the man with no memory to finally find himself, even though it had meant leaving their shelter to stake his life on what he could discover.

It was a chance that had paid off a thousand times over and more. Kissing Vala softly on the forehead and resting his cheek against her hair, Daniel felt like the luckiest man in the universe.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Three months and seventy chapters later! Whoa! 

Okay, so here we go: the first thanks go out Ael L. Bolt, who quite incidentally started this whole thing with that little plot bunny of hers. Next, I have to hug Candy, my RL best pal and sounding-board, plus all the ladies over at the Daniel Fic Recs Yahoo! Group, which includes Cynic (CynicAlb here) and Lady D. More hugs to my cheerleaders: Nyx Ro, sorrel rowan, BkWurm1, and Star Trek Freak. I'm also sending hugs out to Stargate Fan and all the other wonderful folks at the Daniel/Vala forum on Invision!

Last, but certainly not least, anyone and everyone who voted for me in the Isis Awards, plus all you lovely, wonderful people whose continual encouragement has kept me going: Shinki (who never missed reviewing a chapter since day one!), Whirlwind-2005 (didn't miss any either!), Rebel Goddess, Myosotis13, forestwife, Samvalasam, GaterBait, piano-fingers, catgirl789, Quacked Lurker, Bekki, Sokorra Lewis, E. Nagrom & melinda119, Marzi, weemcg33, isabelqc, TurnerH, the ever-so-anonymous Lurch, Xinnlajgin, acer-sigma, Nytegoddess (xxDark-Elfxx), Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea, Milena D., Zuzanny, Khentkawes, bluedragon 1836, gopherfool, Obsessed Pam, drey'auc475, HAZMOT, sarahmw42, Amber Jack, cam-is-hot, CrazyLikeaFox, Darth Tater, eresseami, Not A Muggle, BalrogsBreath, angelathene, Calendar, Shannon K, sir newton, syzygy13, Verity Kindle, abydonian, darthme1011, the always-anonymous dawn, PadmeKenobi, The Eromancer, Transgenic-girl, AV21, Fission25, mightylibrarian, Rae16, Spamurai, tnickel, WezH, Alowl, Kay Vegas, Maeve Bran, Taeriel, Talenyn01, Thraesja, KearSeer, Lady Jaye, madaboutdanny, Mage Ren, reighost, SabineHolterman, Talzin, The Rushing Wind, Alicia Spinnet, AngusH, aprun, Ayankha, booster-t, Castianna, ccgig, DarkBlade the Damned, Farah, FlyGirlRhiannonRaaye, fonzo, fyere, ilna, JayDragon, Jessica, Kale, kibberly, kiftgirl, majinme, NeilDingley, Nogitsune-chan, Oceda Kendara, purplegryphon, QuasiOuster, set, SG-Fan, slipfighter, spacegypsy1, spanishgirl, Tigerdrake, v, Vala Fan, vasti, whisper99, Wings90, xX-Silver-and-cold-Xx

//passes out//

Okay, so I'm not really finished. I got the Women Who Love Daniel page set up, so go take a peek at that at wwld dot cleothemuse dot net. I promise there IS more to come, but I will need to catch up on three months worth of lost sleep first!

//hugs everyone again//

:) Cleo


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